Honda Engines For Red Bull In 2019

RED BULL MAKES SWITCH TO HONDA IN 2019

    Red Bull will switch to Honda for the 2019 Formula 1 championship, ending a 12 year partnership with current engine supplier Renault.

    Honda began supplying Red Bull’s sister team Toro Rosso at the start of the 2018 season, so far helping the team to three points finishes and seventh in the constructors’ championship.

    Red Bull boss Christian Horner is confident his team can take top results with Honda power.

    “This multi-year agreement with Honda signals the start of an exciting new phase in Aston Marin red Bull Racing’s efforts to compete not just for grand prix wins but for what is always our goal – championship titles.

    We have always taken decisions such as this dispassionately and with only one criteria in mind – do we believe the outcome will allow us to compete at a higher level. After careful consideration and evaluation, we are certain this partnership with Honda is the right direction for the team.

    We have impressed by Honda’s commitment to F1, by the rapid steps they have made in recent times with our sister team Scuderia Toro Rosso, and by the scope for their ambition, which matches our own. We look forward to working with Honda in the comping years and to racing together in pursuit of F1’s biggest prizes.”

    The team will continue to race under the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing name.

    “Having established a good relationship with Scuderia Toro Rosso, we have decided to extend our Formula 1 involvement to the other team in the Red Bull family,” said Takahiro Hachigo, President & Representative Director of Honda Motor Co., Ltd.  “Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, as from the 2019 season. Having two teams means we can access twice as much data as previously.

    We believe that working with both Toro Rosso and Red Bull Racing will allow us to get closer to our goal of winning races and championships, building two strong partnerships.

    Discussions proceeded very quickly, thanks to Red Bull’s open and respectful attitude towards Honda, leading to a deal that is fair and equitable for all parties.”

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring

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Honda Engines For Toro Rosso, Renault Engines For McLaren

TORO ROSSO GRABS HONDA ENGINES FOR 2018 AS McLAREN SIGNS ON FOR RENAULT ENGINES

    Toro Rosso will use Honda power from 2018 after agreeing a multi-year deal with the Japanese manufacturer.

    The Red Bull junior ends its contract with Renault early and its understood the loan of Carlos Sainz to the works team was part of the negotiations.

    “Everyone in our team is very much looking forward to working with Honda,” said team principal Franz Tost.

    “Ever since its founder Soichiro Honda entered his motorcycles in events, racing has always been a central part of the company’s ethos.

    It’s a very exciting challenge and I hope that both parties will gain a great deal from it as we develop together,”

    “It will be a question of adaption of our plans rather than a wholesale change and we are in the process of re-planning our design and production activities in conjunction with Honda to ensure that we both hit all our important deadlines,” said technical director James Key.

    "There are some challenges to face given the time of year but Toro Rosso has faced many different tasks with timing in the past and has the flexibility to deal with it.

    We will be working hard not to only re-design the power unit installation but also to ensure that this has minimal or no effect on our ongoing development work for 2018 – that is our current target"

    It’s not the first time Toro Rosso has used different engines to sister team Red Bull - the team has only recently switched from Ferrari power – but it has only ever used old engines when using a different manufacturer to Red Bull. This time Toro Rosso will use the latest iteration of Honda engines.

    The news comes as McLaren confirms it has ended its relationship with Honda after three years of disappointing results.

    McLaren has signed a three-year deal with Toro Rosso’s current manufacturer Renault in the hope it can be competitive again in 2018.

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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McLaren Splits With Honda

McLAREN SPLITS WITH HONDA

    McLaren has ended its relationship with Honda and is set to use Renault power from 2018.

    Honda rejoined Formula 1 with McLaren in 2015 and has been plagued with performance and reliability problems throughout the three years. In that time, McLaren-Honda has taken just 114 points.

    With Honda showing little sign of improvement in the first half of 2017, McLaren made it clear it was looking at alternative options for next season. It’s understood the team has signed a three-year deal with Renault and will receive the same specification engines as the Renault works team and customer team Red Bull in 2018.

    Honda will remain in Formula 1, supplying engines to Toro Rosso, who is using Renault engines this season. It’s believed Carlos Sainz Jnr has moved to Renault as part of the agreement to allow Toro Rosso to end its contract early.

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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McLaren Launch Retro-Style Car

McLAREN REVEAL RETRO-INSPIRED LIVERY FOR MCL32

    McLaren Honda have revealed their new “retro” look car as they strive to take steps towards returning to winning ways this season.

    After two frustrating years, the team has a new livery, new driver line up, new engine design, and new senior management with the hopes of creating a package that will be able to catch up with the front runners.

    “Within McLaren Honda, there’s a tangible feeling of progress, of change,” said racing director Eric Boullier. “This year’s rules reset is a valuable opportunity for us – it will allow us to make progress with what we feel is a well ordered and clearly defined chassis engine package, and hopefully to narrow the delta between us and the front running teams.”

    McLaren have answered the regulation changes with some interesting features, including gill-like slits on the nose and the shark fin that has become expected of the 2017 cars.

     Both drivers are keen to get into the cockpit. Fernando Alonso will compete in his third consecutive season with the team, and will be joined by new comer Stoffel Vandoorne. Vandoorne has already made his F1 debut when standing in for Alonso after the Spanish driver was ruled out of the Bahrain GP due on medical grounds, but this will be his first full season in the championship.

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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Austrian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - McLaren

Preview Quotes - McLaren


Fernando Alonso - “Montreal was a difficult race for the whole team – we expected it to be tough because of the nature of the circuit, but obviously a double retirement was especially disappointing. But, of course, just because a weekend doesn’t go to plan, it doesn’t mean we give up. We’re still seeing great progress every weekend, and we hope Austria will be the same. Our most important focus is reliability, so that we can get the most time on track in order to make the biggest improvements we can. This is a very physical circuit with four long, fast straights and heavy braking in the corners, so it’ll be challenging for our package, but it’s a really interesting track to race on.

Spielberg is a beautiful location for a Grand Prix and going back there last year after an 11-year break was a great experience. It’s still the great circuit it was, and there are quite a few overtaking opportunities which make it even more enjoyable. We’ve already put the last race behind us and I’m keen to get out there, race hard with our nearest competitors, and hopefully have some fun.”

Jenson Button - “Over the past few days we’ve bounced back from Montreal and we’re already looking firmly ahead at the next challenge. As a team, we’re measured ultimately on where we finish on a Sunday afternoon, which doesn’t take into account the progress we’ve made behind the scenes, or in practice and qualifying in the build-up to the race, so it can sometimes be difficult to see the positives after a tough grand prix.

However, it’s important that we don’t forget how far we’ve come. Yes, both cars retiring from the race was not at all the result we’ve been working so hard for, but we are focused on the progress we’re still making and the improvements that we’ve already made up to this point. There’s still a huge amount of belief within the team, and we’re continuing to push for development in every area back in Woking and Sakura. Last year’s Austrian Grand Prix was a huge success, and for the few of us drivers that raced here pre-2003, it’s definitely considered one of those ‘mini-classics’: not so complex in terms of its configuration, but fun to drive. On paper, Austria won’t suit the characteristics of our car, but I’m looking forward to enjoying some good racing there and pushing to make more progress in every session.”

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Article Posted By: Amy Hawk
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McLaren's 2015 Struggle

Throughout the start of the season, McLaren have been struggling and often finding themselves mid-field rather than at the front, where most fans would argue they belong. At the end of last year, after they announced that they had signed their previous driver, Fernando Alonso, things started looking up. People believed that Fernando would not be moving to a team where he couldn't win, and with his previous experience came trust of his judgment.

As expected, McLaren fans have stayed loyal. If there's a quality that F1 fans possess, it's loyalty. We have the ability to believe in and stick with a team or driver in the toughest of times. In some cases they spend years without a drive and in others they spend a season struggling for a single championship point. This is why there is no decrease in McLaren belief. Fans are sure that they will return to their former glory but with the new Honda power system, it's unsure as to when this will occur.

Many people were ecstatic to see the return of the Honda/McLaren alliance, the team being one of the people. However, it has recently been questioned if they are happy about their decision, looking back on it. In addition to this, the media and fans alike have been questioning if Fernando feels like he made the right choice. Especially since Ferrari seem to be thriving this season. It must feel like rubbing salt in the wound.

Despite this, we have been reassured by Fernando that he did not rejoin the team for points and wins. Rather he rejoined because it's where he feels he belongs. It's important for a driver to feel comfortable within the team to ensure results are the best they can be. This of course, brings Jenson Button into the equation.

He's had a better year than last as he's been married, however, Jenson doesn't seem to be his happiest when at work. However, being pilot to a struggling car is never fun. We all saw the effects it had on last year's Sauber drivers. McLaren are set to improve but it will take time, as any steps forward in motor sports will. The progress cannot be marked on a timeline but it's rather exciting to see where they'll be at the end of this season.

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Article Written By: Frances Fry
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Bahrain GP: Driver Preview Quotes - McLaren

Preview Quotes - McLaren


Fernando Alonso - “For me, China was a significant step forward for us and particularly for me as it’s the longest race distance I have done so far! Every lap we complete provides us with extremely valuable data, so to finish the race was a great improvement and proves the gains we have made in the reliability of our package. I had a lot of fun out there and our performance in the final stint was very positive.

Now, we go to Bahrain, and our aim is to keep building on this momentum with reliability, and of course to keep pushing for gains in performance, as we have been doing every weekend. In Australia, Malaysia and China we have seen big improvements each weekend, and although these two races are back-to-back, we will arrive in Bahrain and begin working on set-up straight away to maximize our potential at this circuit. This will be a challenging track for our car, for sure, but our first aim is to finish the race and take away as much data as possible to prepare ourselves for Barcelona onwards. We are certainly seeing progress all the time and the car feels great to drive, so we have a good base to keep developing. I’m looking forward to seeing what this race brings and getting the most from the weekend in every session.”

Jenson Button - “China was a tricky race for us although we did see a lot of positives. There’s been a definite step forward at each race so far, although sadly this didn’t translate into the gains on track that we’d hoped for during the race, so we’re busy working out the reasons for that and will channel that into set up preparation for this weekend.

The incident with Maldonado towards the end of the race in China was unfortunate and a simple misjudgment on my part as we braked into the corner. Nevertheless, until that point our battle was a lot of fun and it was very encouraging that we were able to take the fight to the Lotus in the corners, even though on the straights it was much more challenging. Bahrain is always a really great event for the fans and it’s a fun track to race on – I won there in 2009 and I enjoy driving there. Although our car isn’t suited so well to this track layout, we’ll still be pushing to continue our development as we look forward to the start of the European season and hopefully more gains in performance.”

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Article Posted By: Amy Hawk

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Button & Alonso partnered for McLaren-Honda

It has long been confirmed that the double world champion, Fernando Alonso had left Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel, who was early confirmed leaving Red Bull, would be taking the Spaniard's place on the Italian team.

Although this news was expected, now that it has been confirmed, a lot of fans feel like the sport has reached the end of a nera. Fernando joined Scuderia Ferrari in 2010 afer a disappointing second season with previous team Renault. In Alonso's 4 year partnership with Ferrari, the pairing have had their ups and downs.

One of the incredible things about his time with the team was the love he received from the Italian fans. When he races in Italy he is greeted by cheering at the exit of every corner.

But now, the Spaniard has been confirmed for a return at McLaren as they prepare to race in the 2015 season with Honda engines, ending their long partnership with Mercedes. He will joing Jenson Button, who has been retained by the Woking-based team. It was a long wait to find out th team's full line-up, but now that things are in place, fans of Alonso and Button can breathe a sigh of relief.

Young Dane, Kevin Magnussen has been demoted to reserve driver for 2015. Also staying with the team are Stoffel Vandoorne, who will race in another season of GP2 with ART and Oliver Turvey, who has been their long-term development driver. Not returning is test driver Gary Paffett, who has decided to focus on his DTM career.

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Article Written By: Frances Fry & Amy Hawk
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