Mercedes F1 Boss Thinks Honda Will Be Strong Competitor
Mercedes motorsport boss, Toto Wolff, is wary of Honda’s power of dreams despite the lackluster performance of its engines last year.
Honda returned to Formula 1 in 2015 as an engine partner to McLaren but suffered power and reliability issues with its turbocharged V6 hybrid engine and energy recovery system, most likely due to changes in Formula 1 rules limiting engine development.
“Honda is a huge organisation with lots of resource, and they were the power unit with the most impressive development curve through 2015. Even if it was a very difficult year for them, it was still very good what they achieved in terms of how they progressed through the season so I have no doubt they will be a strong competitor in the future,” said Wolff who runs the reigning constructor’s champion – the Mercedes AMG Petronas team.
Honda is believed to have made great strides in improving engine reliability and power delivery over the winter.
McLaren and Honda had already known each other for quite some time; it supplied engines to McLaren from 1988 – 1992 (it also at various times was engine supplier to Williams, Lotus, Spirit and Tyrrell) which helped the team win 4 constructor championships (Williams earlier won 2 with Honda engines). Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet and Alain Prost were some of the Formula 1 legends who drove Honda-powered racers.
Honda was last in Formula 1 as a constructor team in 2008. Its first foray into the sport was actually in 1964 while it was still a fresh carmaker; it won the Mexican Grand Prix the next year.
The new McLaren-Honda MP4-31 will be unveiled on 21 February 2016.
Hear the MP4-31’s engine being fired up here – posted by f1ukraine.
