2019 Aston Martin Red Bull Racing - Honda F1 Team

[carisi2k]

It seems odd that they will take a new PU in Baku this early when the current PU has shown no signs of issues. They say 20hp more but will it really make such a big difference that they will sacrifice a penalty later on in the season, especially this year now that the mid field has closed in that will make it more difficult to move through the pack. I hope it's because they already tested it with STR in China and they saw better drivabilty that will also help with corner exit and the packaging will also help with Aero development. If it's just hp it's kind of a waste if they are struggling to put the power down. At the same time the reports may just be lost in translation and it's just a fuel upgrade.

I would think that baku would be the perfect time to take this new engine if it has an extra 20hp and better driveability. The old engine would still be in the stock pile for races such as monaco, hungary and singapore since unlike a certain other brand the engines have been reliable.

[carisi2k]

Weather forecast is for max temp in day of 17C and the race and quali are oddly at evening with temps dropping to below 15C. This will play havoc for all teams but especially to those struggling with traction and not having confidence on throttle after cornering. Still think Redbull have a lot more to find in their setup for low to medium corners.
The Mclarens will be a force to watch out for as well.

Oh boy are you deluded McMika. The Mclaren can fight in the mid field but it most certainly isn't a top 3 car ready to take on Red Bull. Gasly was slow and still well and truly able to leave the midfield behind in china. Gasly is slowly getting better acclimatised to the rb15 but is still clearly ahead of the mid pack even if he is still far behind Max.

[McMika98]

Still think Redbull have a lot more to find in their setup for low to medium corners.
The Mclarens will be a force to watch out for as well.

Oh boy are you deluded McMika. The Mclaren can fight in the mid field but it most certainly isn't a top 3 car ready to take on Red Bull. Gasly was slow and still well and truly able to leave the midfield behind in china. Gasly is slowly getting better acclimatised to the rb15 but is still clearly ahead of the mid pack even if he is still far behind Max.

Where did i say Mclaren is a top 3 car? However Baku is a pecuilar track with low downforce and lower track temp, no fast corners to gain time ala Bahrain or China so expect the midfield to be lot closer to the top teams, less than a second. Now this i will say, Gasly will struggle to qualify 6th, heck even in the top 10 and that will be that.

[ispano6]

The Red Bulls will be fine, and I expect Toro Rosso to be similarly strong in Baku like they were in China, but Baku has no runoffs and the track is narrow.
Expect to see more clashes, maybe even some payback. Quali will look like Bahrain and the Bulls need to get better starts as they all seem to lose position at the start.

[Wouter]

Quali will look like Bahrain and the Bulls need to get better starts as they all seem to lose position at the start.

The less good starts from Max this year is due to the rear wheel suspension. If suddenly a lot of power is released, the rear wheels start to bounce quite a bit. So they have to change that rear wheel suspension .
The car needs more DF and especially at the rear. I hope they change the rear suspension before Barcelona,
because they said there will be a huge upgrade of the chassis.

[PhillipM]

Gasly was slow and still well and truly able to leave the midfield behind in china. Gasly is slowly getting better acclimatised to the rb15 but is still clearly ahead of the mid pack even if he is still far behind Max.

The Mclarens were as fast as Gasly in China, just the crashes at the start that cost them. Baku is likely to suit them, so don't write them off yet.
However, the Red Bull is again mighty on the brakes this year, so I'm expecting Max to scare Ferrari here.

[carisi2k]

Gasly was slow and still well and truly able to leave the midfield behind in china. Gasly is slowly getting better acclimatised to the rb15 but is still clearly ahead of the mid pack even if he is still far behind Max.

The Mclarens were as fast as Gasly in China, just the crashes at the start that cost them. Baku is likely to suit them, so don't write them off yet.
However, the Red Bull is again mighty on the brakes this year, so I'm expecting Max to scare Ferrari here.

Stop kidding yourself. Gasly is obviously slower then Max at the moment but he still had six tenths on carlos in Q2 and in the race he had considerably more speed then the Renault even though he only qualified faster by a couple of hundredths. The Mclaren is a mid field car and the red bull is a car capable of being near the front runners in the hands of someone like Max.

How exactly will Baku suit Mclaren or any car with a Renault engine. That circuit is a point and squirt circuit with no handling needed like china. Daniel got lucky in 2017 but neither the factory Reggie team or Mclaren are capable of doing what Red Bull could do with the Renault engine.

[carisi2k]

Why the heck are we talking about those 2 slow coaches in the red bull thread anyway. The RB15 is fast enough in Max's hands that he was able to pass sebastian in Australia, beat a ferrari in china and pass sebastian again temporarily even with a chassis that is playing up somewhat.

If they get this new engine in Baku they might have enough grunt to make life difficult for Mercedes and Ferrari.

[godlameroso]

So the engine update will be less than 20 hp, Enough for maybe .1

[Singabule]

I thought its amazing that RBR and STR car has very different characters, one toward front end and good cornering speed on fast corner but not too stable on acceration, one is very good at slow corner and good in traction when accelerate ot of corners, and Gasly is the victim of it. Hopefully he can change his driving style to suit RBR car. Thats why Vettel also beaten by Ricci on the same car, hence Ricci and Max have similar stlye but less aggressive one

[Wouter]

Max and Pierre will get a new ICE in Baku.

This weekend, we will introduce the Spec 2 version of our internal combustion engine (ICE) across all four cars right from the start of the weekend. One of the reasons for bringing it to this race is that we found that Kvyat’s PU problem in China was down to a quality control issue. The main benefits of Spec 2 are improved durability and life and better reliability. It also offers a slight improvement in performance.

https://twitter.com/HondaRacingF1/statu ... 8330317824

[Stef]

Surely the Spec 1 will be used on Fridays for as long as possible.

[mclaren113]

Surely the Spec 1 will be used on Fridays for as long as possible.

Specs 2 will be used from the start of the weekend

[loner]

Surely the Spec 1 will be used on Fridays for as long as possible.

spec 2 is a modified spec 1( flawed), so spec 3 is the original scheduled update.
i won't be surprised if they introduce it after 2 or 3 races.. and take a penalty in SPA for spec 4 the last update.
well assuming reliability stands...

[fellowhoodlums]

There is something not fully revealed in the Honda statement.

If it's all about durability and reliability then why not just wait until the engine blows and intruduce it then? it's ensuring a penalty in the season (which i appreciate they accepted will happen) unecessariliy.

Perhaps durability, reliability and power are all in the same componant and preventing further developments until it's improved? Maybe "party mode" can't be sustained in Qualy as it's risking PU failure and this helps maintain it throughout qualifying?

Looking forward to seeing the improvements on track. Really enjoying watching Honda develop .... they can smell blood of the guys in front for sure and Helmut can too.