Honda:There are still 125 hp

[PURE PASSION]

For McLaren-Honda existed in Malaysia a good news and bad news. The good: The car is faster. The bad: neither Fernando Alonso nor Jenson Button finished the race. The engine is still a construction site.
It is a long way for McLaren . Or, as Fernando Alonso puts it: "An exciting trip." Whether it is as exciting for the Spaniards accustomed to success, must be questioned. In Malaysia, the two-time world champion got a taste of what to expect in the coming weeks. The package is missing 2.5 seconds on the top. A second less than in Australia. And the Honda engine is a grab bag.


Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button were united in the penultimate row. Behind only one of the two hopeless Manor. The McLaren drivers make an effort to think positively. "We now come at least to drive. This can begin the learning process," said Alonso after training. The 130 rounds in four training sessions were from the perspective of Honda already a marathon.

Honda struggling with MGU-K drive
In the race after 21 and 41 laps was over. Both drivers dropped out with engine problems in the environment. When this button strike the turbocharger, the MP4-30 Alonso threatened the electric motors and power electronics to overheat. "There were problems with the ERS-cooling" it said tersely. But this is not the Achilles heel of the Honda V6. The most compact engine in the field suffers from a disease that had affected the competition a year ago. Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault had to rework several times in the area.

It's about driving the MGU-K. The shaft is the most highly loaded part in the drive and costs a fortune. Honda apparently has a different concept of integration with the crankshaft than anyone else. And that makes trouble. Kevin Magnussen stopped in Melbourne, because metal chips broke off from the drive of the MGU-K and inflicting devastation in the engine.

With Buttons motor data announced after the first day of practice at Sepang on a similar damage. So also the first power source had to be extended. The various bandied problems with the MSU-H were only consequential damages. If any. The turbocharger and the MSU-H were at any rate equal to changed.

McLaren is 25 hp more since Australia
In another construction Honda has cleaned up in the 14 days between Melbourne and Sepang partially. The high temperatures in the V of the six cylinders are somewhat under control. Thus, the placed there sensors provide reliable values ​​again. Honda dared 25 hp more than release in Australia in Malaysia. "We still lag over 100 hp" revealed a McLaren man.

It should be exactly 125 hp by internal measurements. Honda will gradually keys to the limit in order not to lose more engines. The difficulties with the MGU K drive must be solved without the use of developmental token. It is a measure that is used for stability.

The initial problems the Japanese have also delayed the vehicle development. McLaren brought in Sepang new parts on the car which were scheduled for some time. It made little sense to try them. If you do not get to drive, also no comparison tests can do. The aero package in Malaysia was correspondingly extensive: new nose, S-bay, underbody skid, side boxes and slats.

In the nose, two versions were tested. With or without stomach. For the race, McLaren decided to belly. McLaren had over especially through the crash test. The side boxes let more air in the rear. With negative effects on the aerodynamics. Martin Brundle judge for a route visit: "I am not yet convinced the car in the corners."
:clap.I couldnt understant if this is because they run on limited settings,or they calculate it running on full power??
Still its feels good see them strugle,even more since Ron made his statements last year that they have a super car with syper engine and they will be super competitive!!!!Enjoy your super duper last place!!!!!!!

[F1 Dream Team]

Bit off both me thinks but if honda sort engine out they be force again car seems good its just engine that rubbish at min

[wisepie]

I'm not keen on wanting this collaboration to fail or gloating over their current problems, it's a shame for the drivers too but as Mclaren have historically been Ferrari's closest competitor (until RB and Merc came along), I'm quite relived that they're not up to speed yet, but be warned, they probably will be before too long and then we may have to eat our words!

[WS6TransAm01]

I'm just glad Alonso made this excellent choice... Clearly there was no hope in staying with Ferrari and McL-Honda offered him a better chance at a 3rd WDC. How's the gass over there Nando? Still greener?

[ClaudiuCojo]

Please don't be naive, F1 need this partnership to succeed F1 is declining in viewer considerably and this happens becoz the lack of competition at top, I wanna see a F1 where we have a strong Mercedes, a strong Ferrari and a strong McLaren-Honda becoz that will benefit everyone on the long term.

That being said I am sure in 1 year top Honda will get their act straight and make the leap to competitiveness, it took Ferrari 1 year so I don't see why it should take Honda longer.

They(McLaren) have clearly a good chassis so they only lack on the engine front.

[Greig]

They might never get it right, and not sure how you can judge the chassis when it's hardly being pushed.

[NenoX]

They might never get it right, and not sure how you can judge the chassis when it's hardly being pushed.

Based from Nando's and Button's feedback as per Ron, the car goes well under braking and on high speed corners. That is down to the car design ain't it?

[PURE PASSION]

Based from Nando's and Button's feedback as per Ron, the car goes well under braking and on high speed corners. That is down to the car design ain't it?

Yehh but they dont go very fast on these high speed corners are they?

[Tony]

I'm trying to think, was there ever a time in modern F1 where there were 3 cars battling it out for a championship?

I'm thinking as far back as the 80's, I only ever remember it being two teams fighting for top spot or 1 team always demolishing the field...

[Greig]

Based from Nando's and Button's feedback as per Ron, the car goes well under braking and on high speed corners. That is down to the car design ain't it?

Well they will surely tell the truth :-)

[Greig]

I'm trying to think, was there ever a time in modern F1 where there were 3 cars battling it out for a championship?

I'm thinking as far back as the 80's, I only ever remember it being two teams fighting for top spot or 1 team always demolishing the field...

Maybe 99 think the Jordan was in with a shout until a few races to go, but yeah not very often.

[mirafiori]

Based from Nando's and Button's feedback as per Ron, the car goes well under braking and on high speed corners. That is down to the car design ain't it?

To me it sound like Mclaren have a script for all the team and drivers to say only positve things, maybe the team are still looking for sponsorship. David coulthard also questioned how the team and drivers keep saying how good the car handles when its not running at 100 % and he even added the car looked a handful.

[Nero Horse]

Two best sights in Formula 1:

1. Ferrari winning
2. Macca failing

[Fireblade]

I'm trying to think, was there ever a time in modern F1 where there were 3 cars battling it out for a championship?

I'm thinking as far back as the 80's, I only ever remember it being two teams fighting for top spot or 1 team always demolishing the field...

2010. Last race of the season and there were four drivers from three different teams (RB, Ferrari, McLaren) fighting for the WDC.

[The Architect]

I can't say I have much sympathy for McLaren. They threw the rattle out of the pram when Mercedes entered as a works team despite years of shared successes. I also can't say I feel sorry for Honda given the amount of preparation time they've had and specific benchmark numbers to work towards. 11 finishers at Australia and still a McLaren out of the points was an exquisite moment of schadenfreude.

It's easy to have a car that drives beautifully when you're 4+ seconds a lap off the pace; that's on its way to being an entirely different formula. We'll see where they are at the end of the season. I strongly suspect Alonso has missed his moment.

[wickedf1]

I'm trying to think, was there ever a time in modern F1 where there were 3 cars battling it out for a championship?

I'm thinking as far back as the 80's, I only ever remember it being two teams fighting for top spot or 1 team always demolishing the field...

2010 - Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull, serious contenders to the 2nd to last race on the calendar.

Oh I just saw Fireblade wrote this too. :oops

[da_one]

It is quite rare in modern F1 to see more than 2 teams fighting for the wins, usually there are just 2 teams or 1 team dominating the sport while the rest are bunched together. As the other guys commented, the last time there were more than 2 teams battling it out for the championships were in 2010. Prior to that, it was in 2003 when we last witnessed 3 teams going at it, namely, Ferrari lead by Schumi, Mclaren led by Raikkonen and Williams led by Montoya.

[vcs316]

I can't say I have much sympathy for McLaren. They threw the rattle out of the pram when Mercedes entered as a works team despite years of shared successes. I also can't say I feel sorry for Honda given the amount of preparation time they've had and specific benchmark numbers to work towards. 11 finishers at Australia and still a McLaren out of the points was an exquisite moment of schadenfreude.

It's easy to have a car that drives beautifully when you're 4+ seconds a lap off the pace; that's on its way to being an entirely different formula. We'll see where they are at the end of the season. I strongly suspect Alonso has missed his moment.

+1 They had over a year to analyze what the other teams were doing (especially Mercedes) and yet they got it wrong! Zero sympathies for Mclaren Honda. They should have built a monster of an engine given the prep time they had. I doubt they will get their act right until next year. They may score an occasional point in the first half of the season and may even start finishing in the points regularly in the latter half of 2015. But a podium & a win is atleast a couple of years away!

[abbottcostello]

If McLaren is down "over 100hp" of the pu potential & it is down to reliability issues, that is a pretty good situation for Honda as it requires no tokens to cure the problems. Changes only need to be submitted to FIA for approval.
If solutions come without too much trouble for them, they can move up the pecking order fairly quickly & still have tokens to spend on improvements, so I am not discounting them from making up significant ground during this season.
Having said that, catching Ferrari up this year... in your dreams, Ron!

[aroutis]

I'm trying to think, was there ever a time in modern F1 where there were 3 cars battling it out for a championship?

I'm thinking as far back as the 80's, I only ever remember it being two teams fighting for top spot or 1 team always demolishing the field...Ferrari, McLaren and BMW was battling it out back in 2003, at least to a point, no?
But the viewership of F1 is not just to the whole engine thing, it's also because of the fact that F1 is slowly but surely being pulled away from Europe.
Whether Bernie likes it or not, Europe is the heart of F1.

[Sriharsha]

Ferrari, McLaren and BMW was battling it out back in 2003, at least to a point, no?
But the viewership of F1 is not just to the whole engine thing, it's also because of the fact that F1 is slowly but surely being pulled away from Europe.
Whether Bernie likes it or not, Europe is the heart of F1.
I agree with this. Most of the Europe tracks are the Heart of F1. San marino/ France/ Germany old Hockenheim Ring and these are getting replaced by soul less Sochi/Baku

[Brembo]

I agree with this. Most of the Europe tracks are the Heart of F1. San marino/ France/ Germany old Hockenheim Ring and these are getting replaced by soul less Sochi/Baku
Mercs, Nico, Seb, Ferrari, couldn't draw a crowd in Germany. Bernie simply goes where the $$ is. He never heard of Abu Dubai and they never heard of F1. But when he saw the $$ signs, the rest is history. Vegas USA, gambling revenue is down, they need a shot like F1. Bernie probably already gave them a deal they can't refuse.

[fmatiasii]

am i in the wrong forum? i thought this was suppose to be ferrari forum and not honda. :-D

[gazoz]

AGREE 100%
They might never get it right, and not sure how you can judge the chassis when it's hardly being pushed.

[Senna4Ever]

I'm trying to think, was there ever a time in modern F1 where there were 3 cars battling it out for a championship?


hmm the year with the strong Jordan? I think there we had 3 cars battling it out
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_199

Sorry saw that Greig already mentioned ... sorry ...

[F1 Dream Team]

http://www.gptoday.com/full_story/view/521250/Alonso_will_retire_after_McLaren_stint/

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso says McLaren will be his final team in Formula 1 before he retires from the sport.

The Spanish driver, 33, made his grand prix debut in 2001 with Minardi and has entered his 14th season as an F1 racing driver, the 15th counting his year as a tester for Renault in 2002.

Alonso is believed to have a multi-year contract with McLaren, and he insisted the British team will be the last one he will drive for.

The McLaren driver has also ruled out taking on a management role, saying he will start a "normal life" when he stops racing in F1.

"No, I don't think so," said Alonso when asked if he will consider a management role after he stops driving.

"I think after 15, or 16, or 17 in Formula 1 is enough. It's probably the same example as with Ferrari. I will close that part of my life.

"I started with a McLaren-Honda replica built by my father when I was three years old and I will finish with a McLaren-Honda, but the real one in Formula 1, and that will be one third of my life with a great experience, with great memories, great friendships.

"But the normal life will start the day I retired and I don't think I will see myself here as a manager or following the sport."

[FerrariF60]

http://www.gptoday.com/full_story/view/521250/Alonso_will_retire_after_McLaren_stint/

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso says McLaren will be his final team in Formula 1 before he retires from the sport.

The Spanish driver, 33, made his grand prix debut in 2001 with Minardi and has entered his 14th season as an F1 racing driver, the 15th counting his year as a tester for Renault in 2002.

Alonso is believed to have a multi-year contract with McLaren, and he insisted the British team will be the last one he will drive for.

The McLaren driver has also ruled out taking on a management role, saying he will start a "normal life" when he stops racing in F1.

"No, I don't think so," said Alonso when asked if he will consider a management role after he stops driving.

"I think after 15, or 16, or 17 in Formula 1 is enough. It's probably the same example as with Ferrari. I will close that part of my life.

"I started with a McLaren-Honda replica built by my father when I was three years old and I will finish with a McLaren-Honda, but the real one in Formula 1, and that will be one third of my life with a great experience, with great memories, great friendships.

"But the normal life will start the day I retired and I don't think I will see myself here as a manager or following the sport."

that's a bunch of bull me thinks; he said the same thing while he was driving for us...he should have stuck to his "guns out" and kept his original promise...when he said that he wanted to retire at FERRARI

just for that, i wish Mclosers keep giving him a LOSING car and he retires on the LOW, as he deserves for deserting a team like FERRARI....

[Nero Horse]

that's a bunch of bull me thinks; he said the same thing while he was driving for us...he should have stuck to his "guns out" and kept his original promise...when he said that he wanted to retire at FERRARI

just for that, i wish Mclosers keep giving him a LOSING car and he retires on the LOW, as he deserves for deserting a team like FERRARI....

+1000

Well said. Couldn't agree more. :thumb

[Hornet]

I'm trying to think, was there ever a time in modern F1 where there were 3 cars battling it out for a championship?

I'm thinking as far back as the 80's, I only ever remember it being two teams fighting for top spot or 1 team always demolishing the field...

That's what I would love to see. As much as people love bashing our competitors, the sport is boring without all of them being competitive. Ideally I would love to see Merc, Ferrari, Red Bull, and McLaren all having a chance at the title, what a great season that would be.

I think it would be great for the sport if the field were significantly closer. Problem is no one seem to know how that can ever be achieved, if at all possible. Maybe the sport has become too technical for it's own good.

[Brembo]

Alonso is one of the best F1 drivers of all time. I believe him in so much as he's securing his retirement. He for sure wants to continue the same lifestyle after work. McL for sure offered him a deal he can't refuse $$$ wise. Ferrari on the other hand didn't want to lose the chance to get Seb by furtur procrastinating. Seb was ready willing and for sure able, so everyone got the best deal. I wish only the best for Alonso's future. He gave Ferrari his best while there IMO and now we have Seb giving the same. Just look at how us Ferrari fans are already enjoying 2015 !!

[ferrari4life]

I hope Honda can get it figured out and beat the Merc factory team..
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That is after we have beaten them and are ahead later in the year. We can use all the help we can get from other teams so we can make up the point deficit to win the 2 championships.