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Originally Posted by F1Guy
Been hearing and reading a few comments that at least McLaren/Honda finished qualifying without issue, they're not doing so bad, we should give Honda a break, etc. etc. etc.
What a load of horse manure!
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Well, we all have our opinions!
Maybe that things actually worked decently well today considering how bad things were in testing isn't setting well with you. If they continue to make progress will your complaints increase?
Regardless, given how badly things went in testing and they are in a bad place, today was a good day for McLaren and Honda and it's a stretch to argue otherwise! I think just days ago people wondered if they would finish the race (I picked them for double DNF) and they finished one car and Alonso almost scored points before a reported chassis issue (see below for more comments on that). And don't get me wrong, I fully expect things to continue to be bad for a number of races yet to come. They are likely to have more DNFs, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by F1Guy
This is now Honda's "updated" engine. Built with lessons learnt from their previous design.
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You may want to do some reading. This is not an update to the old engine, but a full redesign. Regarding lessons learnt, Honda has said that the prior engine was generally speaking at a development dead end. A new path was needed, hence the full redesign vs. an update to the prior platform.
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Originally Posted by F1Guy
Even if they start to do "ok" later in the season, I will not be a Honda F1 supporter. McLaren yes, Honda no.
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Ok then, got it, not a Honda fan!
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Originally Posted by GTRMagic
Clearly Honda's simulation technology sucks..
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I am a Honda fan, but not an apologist. They clearly screwed up in multiple ways. There can be no argument there. Given that is in the past, the question is how quickly can they recover and does this new concept have legs. Time will tell.
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Originally Posted by GTRMagic
A 10km/h difference in Vmax doesn't help you understand how it gets there. They didnt show too many onboards with the McLarens, but the customer Benz in the Force India, and even the pretty crummy Renault seemed to leave the McLaren in their dust at the end.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GTRMagic
Mr Alonso complained of fuel saving all race...
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It generally felt Honda made a number of tuning changes to increase reliability. Speculation is less revs, likely a bit richer burn, various other tweaks to reduce vibrations. All of that probably adds up to lower power and higher consumption. Alonso was likely on fuel savings strategy for most or all of the race. Isn't it interesting that he ran in 10th for most of the race given all of those handicaps!
Quote:
Originally Posted by GTRMagic
Did the suspension *really* break in the McLaren, or was it about to run out of motion lotion?
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That is a good question. Given how McLaren has been willing to call out Honda's performance, I can't see them taking a dive for Honda and saying it was the car if it was the engine. While Alonso mentioned suspension failure in post race interviews, the official statement from McLaren says that he had a damage left front brake duct for the entire race, but ultimately retired due to a broken floor. Even on the radio when Alonso lost 10th late in the race, he called out a problem with the car at that very moment and not the engine. But to your point, yeah he may have run the fuel very close. I guess only McLaren and Honda know the truth.
Richard