F1 | Aston Martin: Honda is 90 hp short, but half the…
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F1 | Aston Martin: Honda is 90 hp short, but half the problem lies with the chassis
The data is discouraging: the disastrous start to the season has dashed all the expectations that had been built around Aston Martin. Any interest the Silverstone team might have aroused in top drivers like Charles Leclerc has evaporated into thin air: the structure built by Lawrence Stroll is not yet mature enough to aspire to the role of a top team, and the transfer rumors have died down, leaving the door open for Fernando Alonso to extend his career for another season.
The Honda power unit was the big disappointment: the Japanese, who won four world titles with Max Verstappen at Red Bull in the ground-effect era, were expected to make a strong start to the new regulations. Instead, their return to F1 after their withdrawal announced on November 2, 2020, is terribly more difficult than expected.
Winning the checkered flag with Alonso in the Japanese GP was a real achievement: the Spaniard finished 18th, the first of the lapped Cadillac MAC-26s. This was a significant improvement over the Australian GP, where there was concern about being unable to complete five or six laps at most due to the vibrations radiating from the RA626H power unit throughout the car, which was debilitating for the battery and the drivers' stamina.
The paradox is that Aston Martin and Honda worked for months based on their respective numbers, but each trusted the other's expected potential. Andy Cowell, the team's CEO and team principal, was the first to pay the price: the former Mercedes engineer had neglected his relationship with the Japanese engineers, and only during the Barcelona shakedown did the harsh reality emerge. Nothing was working.
Not only the engine, but also the AMR26 arrived on the track on the penultimate day of the five-day test because the car had arrived late and, therefore, without spare parts. Honda discovered vibrations that hadn't surfaced on the Sakura test bench, and Aston Martin realized that Adrian Newey's extreme ideas were just as much of a problem as the engine issues.
A cold, icy shower that wiped out any initial ambition. Meanwhile, Cowell, soon to be released, was sent to Sakura to offer his experience as a motor engineer.
Making matters worse was Adrian Newey's tirade in Melbourne, where he blasted Honda at the first press conference, placing all the blame for the lack of performance on the Japanese. It was a direct, frontal attack that offended the Japanese. So much so that Shintaro Orihara, chief of engineering and trackside manager, had decided to form an emergency working group among the parties, which also included Enrico Cardile, the former Ferrari driver who has the thankless task of trying to prioritize the situation to get out of this mess.
It seems the collaboration has been effective, and at least solutions have been tested for vibrations that should mitigate the problem, but the "green" is lapping four seconds behind the leaders. An eternity. The month-long break in F1 is being used to acquire more spare parts and face the rest of the season with greater confidence: "We're working hard to improve battery reliability and power unit performance," Orihara admits. "We need to optimize energy management, and in parallel, we're also working on improving mechanical performance, but we know that's not a short-term project."
Some argue that the gap to Mercedes isn't just down to Handa, but also to the chassis and aerodynamics: "As soon as you solve the reliability issues," explained Chief Trackside Officer Mike Krack, "everyone immediately starts focusing on performance. And from this point of view, we've seen that we're going to make huge steps forward: not small gains like those made now in endurance, but really significant ones. We need to use the break to make the first leap, but there's a mountain to climb ahead of us."
The power deficit is estimated at around 70 kW (95 horsepower): this is enormous, but significantly less than at the start of the season. The Japanese are investing in people and resources to try to recover. The FIA will certainly allow Honda to use the ADUO with two updates, but it would be wrong to expect to see any changes anytime soon: it's more likely that the major changes will arrive only in the summer.
What will Newey do in the meantime? Will he focus on the 2027 car, or will he persist in seeking solutions for the AMR26. Knowing the English "genius," he won't give up, even for a simple matter of pride. The car doesn't respond to medium and fast corners and is still overweight, so there's plenty of room for improvement.
The Aston Martin system shouldn't rush: Honda (although it's in their DNA to suddenly abandon the scene) is reacting with all its strength and proudly wants to emerge from the black hole, while at Silverstone they mustn't give in to nervous breakdowns. Lawrence Stroll has entered the dimension of a transition year because even the Canadian is aware of the "green"'s objective shortcomings, but Adrian will do everything he can to ensure the AMR26 doesn't end up on the (short) list of his bad cars...
#cars
The data is discouraging: the disastrous start to the season has dashed all the expectations that had been built around Aston Martin. Any interest the Silverstone team might have aroused in top drivers like Charles Leclerc has evaporated into thin air: the structure built by Lawrence Stroll is not yet mature enough to aspire to the role of a top team, and the transfer rumors have died down, leaving the door open for Fernando Alonso to extend his career for another season.
The Honda power unit was the big disappointment: the Japanese, who won four world titles with Max Verstappen at Red Bull in the ground-effect era, were expected to make a strong start to the new regulations. Instead, their return to F1 after their withdrawal announced on November 2, 2020, is terribly more difficult than expected.
Winning the checkered flag with Alonso in the Japanese GP was a real achievement: the Spaniard finished 18th, the first of the lapped Cadillac MAC-26s. This was a significant improvement over the Australian GP, where there was concern about being unable to complete five or six laps at most due to the vibrations radiating from the RA626H power unit throughout the car, which was debilitating for the battery and the drivers' stamina.
The paradox is that Aston Martin and Honda worked for months based on their respective numbers, but each trusted the other's expected potential. Andy Cowell, the team's CEO and team principal, was the first to pay the price: the former Mercedes engineer had neglected his relationship with the Japanese engineers, and only during the Barcelona shakedown did the harsh reality emerge. Nothing was working.
Not only the engine, but also the AMR26 arrived on the track on the penultimate day of the five-day test because the car had arrived late and, therefore, without spare parts. Honda discovered vibrations that hadn't surfaced on the Sakura test bench, and Aston Martin realized that Adrian Newey's extreme ideas were just as much of a problem as the engine issues.
A cold, icy shower that wiped out any initial ambition. Meanwhile, Cowell, soon to be released, was sent to Sakura to offer his experience as a motor engineer.
Making matters worse was Adrian Newey's tirade in Melbourne, where he blasted Honda at the first press conference, placing all the blame for the lack of performance on the Japanese. It was a direct, frontal attack that offended the Japanese. So much so that Shintaro Orihara, chief of engineering and trackside manager, had decided to form an emergency working group among the parties, which also included Enrico Cardile, the former Ferrari driver who has the thankless task of trying to prioritize the situation to get out of this mess.
It seems the collaboration has been effective, and at least solutions have been tested for vibrations that should mitigate the problem, but the "green" is lapping four seconds behind the leaders. An eternity. The month-long break in F1 is being used to acquire more spare parts and face the rest of the season with greater confidence: "We're working hard to improve battery reliability and power unit performance," Orihara admits. "We need to optimize energy management, and in parallel, we're also working on improving mechanical performance, but we know that's not a short-term project."
Some argue that the gap to Mercedes isn't just down to Handa, but also to the chassis and aerodynamics: "As soon as you solve the reliability issues," explained Chief Trackside Officer Mike Krack, "everyone immediately starts focusing on performance. And from this point of view, we've seen that we're going to make huge steps forward: not small gains like those made now in endurance, but really significant ones. We need to use the break to make the first leap, but there's a mountain to climb ahead of us."
The power deficit is estimated at around 70 kW (95 horsepower): this is enormous, but significantly less than at the start of the season. The Japanese are investing in people and resources to try to recover. The FIA will certainly allow Honda to use the ADUO with two updates, but it would be wrong to expect to see any changes anytime soon: it's more likely that the major changes will arrive only in the summer.
What will Newey do in the meantime? Will he focus on the 2027 car, or will he persist in seeking solutions for the AMR26. Knowing the English "genius," he won't give up, even for a simple matter of pride. The car doesn't respond to medium and fast corners and is still overweight, so there's plenty of room for improvement.
The Aston Martin system shouldn't rush: Honda (although it's in their DNA to suddenly abandon the scene) is reacting with all its strength and proudly wants to emerge from the black hole, while at Silverstone they mustn't give in to nervous breakdowns. Lawrence Stroll has entered the dimension of a transition year because even the Canadian is aware of the "green"'s objective shortcomings, but Adrian will do everything he can to ensure the AMR26 doesn't end up on the (short) list of his bad cars...
#cars
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