Honda Power Unit Hardware & Software

[McMika98]

Well the fun part of the preseason speculation is over and all those lofty dreams have vaporised into the dust of reality. Disastrous start to a long season, next race is the dreaded desert race where MGUH failed multiple times last year. Im not buying this whole bumpy track theory, not enough energy to cause catastrophic failure. I hope its a minor issue with few sensors or hardware causing the ECU to cut off power and drive in limp mode. ICE was running as Gasmobile made it to pits.

Not a dig so please dont be offended Mr @Wazari : Hope all is well in your in-season residential underground bunker?

[Marti_EF3]

That could be an isolated issue for Gasly PU only?? We all saw they were reliable on Barcelona, it's impossible that now they are at the same situation like 2017, where they had a disastrous testing with MGU-H fails and other issues.

Hartley finished the race, and his pace was at Williams and Force India level, so he wasn't saving engine at all... That seems to me that maybe was an isolaeted failure on that PU... I'm no expert on this, only my opinion

[63l8qrrfy6]

I suppose that's what the mid season upgrade centers around rectifying. It really isn't a big deal, it's obvious they're backmarkers, so penalties do nothing to them in the grand scheme of things. If everything is perfect they qualify near the back, if everything is a disaster they qualify at the back. Even if they take new engines and penalties every race it has no impact on their qualifying performance, but it can certainly move them up the grid during the race.

Well, yes, I can't disagree when you put it like this.

It doesn't make it less disappointing though.

[etusch]

Whole PU gone or just mgu-h ? I don't think they have a ready updated engine so I think they will use same engine with new mgu-h. If the problem is not that big maybe same mgu-h with changing bearings etc. Still there is no explanation about the issue.

[Revs84]

Honda have been working on this year's PU for quite a few months now and over the Winter they have mainly focused their efforts on reliability with a major power update on the side to come later in the year.

Why am I saying this? It's true that they had a reliability issue on the first GP and might even have additional ones later on, but discounting any progress without knowing what really caused the issue is puerile. At least wait till an official explanation is provided and for a few more races before starting to shoot them down.

I find this thread to be really entertaining when there's constructive arguments and theories but it's annoying when comments turn negative and destructive, trying to imply that Honda are somewhat incompetent and not up to the job.

For me, seeing Honda return to the sport after a 7 year hiatus in what is the most complex engine/PU era 1 year late, shows courage and a will to get back to their winning ways. In my books, that in itself shows what Honda are truly made of and their fighting spirit, which sets them apart from the competition in the auto making industry.

Does this excuse all the issues they had? Of course not, but at least they're not giving up and waiting for the new rules to see how they will suit them. So how about showing some more respect and encouragement to these guys and have some faith? Don't you think they have endured enough?

After all this is only year 2 with the new concept, which is being integrated in a new chassis, and whilst they might be running at the back, they're not exactly cut off from the midfield. So again, let's have some faith and wait till mid-season before coming to conclusions.

[radosav]

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-motor ... KKCN1BQ2NX
Last year after singapore honda manager said that they aim top three this year with torro rosso.
Now, i don' t know what to say about that statement.
Seems like honda people aren't aware of task they have to do.

[GhostF1]

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-motor ... KKCN1BQ2NX
Last year after singapore honda manager said that they aim top three this year with torro rosso.
Now, i don' t know what to say about that statement.
Seems like honda people aren't aware of task they have to do.

That was already shown as an incorrect translation. The actual comment was in regards to top 3 manufacturers. Basically a polite way of saying, we will overtake Renault this year.

[wuzak]

You can blame the track all you want, the very short duration accelerations produced by bumps/kerb strikes rarely fail PU components. Bottas registered 27g and they re-used the PU.

And Sirotkin's bulletproof engine died on the first lap, and Ericcsson's Ferrari. Plus you can't compare a TR chassis with a Mercedes one.

Huh ? Sirotkin failed the brakes due to a plastic bag stuck in the duct ? Ericsson had a wonky wheel nut ?
No one designs a chassis to take 27g. There are no special measures to protect the PU when you drive into a wall.

What is your point ?

Ericsson had a power steering failure, which was indicative of a hydraulic failure.

[wuzak]

Hartley finished the race, and his pace was at Williams and Force India level, so he wasn't saving engine at all... That seems to me that maybe was an isolaeted failure on that PU... I'm no expert on this, only my opinion

Williams and Force India pace was not the same. So which was it?

Looking at the gaps, Hartley was roughly on the pace of Stroll. He was not on the pace of Ocon or Perez.

And he was slower than Charles LeClerc, a rookie in a Sauber.

[Soichiro]

Hartley finished the race, and his pace was at Williams and Force India level, so he wasn't saving engine at all... That seems to me that maybe was an isolaeted failure on that PU... I'm no expert on this, only my opinion

Williams and Force India pace was not the same. So which was it?

Looking at the gaps, Hartley was roughly on the pace of Stroll. He was not on the pace of Ocon or Perez.

And he was slower than Charles LeClerc, a rookie in a Sauber.

Hartley had a damaged car and he was, as you say, thereabout with Stroll. Gasly however was on the same pace as FI (right between them) and faster than Sauber and Williams before he retired.

We will see.

[Soichiro]

I see that the timing in the 3rd sector in Australia is really bad for Toro Rosso, comparing with the first two sectors were they are almost competitive to the leading teams in the middle pack, and their speed trap is also very bad comparing with tests when they were among top teams. Could this be indication for poor harvesting, particularly on this track?

Their speed traps in Q were better or thereabout with the Renault powered cars. In race you can hardly compare as Gasly went out on lap 15 (still heavy on fuel) and Hartley had a damaged car + running in isolation (no DRS activation).

The car gains more speed on the straights compared to the McL (probably down to lower downforce/aero drag, but also lower cornering traction = lower corner exit speed).

[Talisman]

Hartley finished the race, and his pace was at Williams and Force India level, so he wasn't saving engine at all... That seems to me that maybe was an isolaeted failure on that PU... I'm no expert on this, only my opinion

Williams and Force India pace was not the same. So which was it?

Looking at the gaps, Hartley was roughly on the pace of Stroll. He was not on the pace of Ocon or Perez.

And he was slower than Charles LeClerc, a rookie in a Sauber.

So were the other cars damaged too?

[godlameroso]

One bad race isn't reason to overreact, it's a shame it ended like that, but there's still some decent pace in the car. The drivers made some mistakes in a very unforgiving circuit and paid the price. Bahrain is a little easier for them, Hartley has plenty of experience in WEC so should fare a little better. This will be a real litmus test for Honda as it's a track with a bunch of drag racing into slow corners, at least there's a few opportunities for overtaking, although still difficult.

[wuzak]

Hartley finished the race, and his pace was at Williams and Force India level, so he wasn't saving engine at all... That seems to me that maybe was an isolaeted failure on that PU... I'm no expert on this, only my opinion

Williams and Force India pace was not the same. So which was it?

Looking at the gaps, Hartley was roughly on the pace of Stroll. He was not on the pace of Ocon or Perez.

And he was slower than Charles LeClerc, a rookie in a Sauber.

So were the other cars damaged too?

How much damage did Hartley have?

How much time did it cost him?

It sounds much more like an excuse, rather than a reason.

[McMika98]

How much damage did Hartley have?

How much time did it cost him?

It sounds much more like an excuse, rather than a reason.

Id rather have the car performance in the other thread. Hartley had okay pace around lower midfield pack and then other stuff conspired.

Anyways regarding the engine, it appears that if they have to replace the MGUH then they will also need to change the Turbo. I find it hard to understand why Honda designed the PU thus way.