Quote:
Originally Posted by wnut
|
So I looked at that article and it is not the initial source. It is based upon an article from Autobild...
https://www.autobild.de/artikel/form...-10924171.html
I think what is going on is a game of Chinese Whispers (aka "Telephone Game" here in the US) with a touch of clickbait drama injected as the story is retold. It is the off season so drama must be hyped up.
My reading is that...
1. Honda is no longer going to be consulting with AVL due to issues with project management within AVL. Autobild goes on to say that Ferrari had the same issue with AVL which led to the end of the Ferrari/AVL partnership. Maybe the problem is with AVL and not Honda? I wonder if they might still be using AVL's commercial equipment and just not consulting directly with them?
2. Honda continues to have vibration issues at full power. The GPFan article talks about Mario Illien's involvement and that the solution has not been found. Given the dire tone of the GPFan article, it implies an unwillingness of Honda to work with a consultant. But if you look at the Autobild article it goes into more depth which says that Mario Illien has not been able to solve it. So it looks like his involvement going forward will be limited. I take that as less about them not willing to work with him, but rather he couldn't solve the problem.
No doubt Honda has issues to work through as they try to move foward. Otherwise they would be at the top of the grid today. But in the end... I believe the GPFan article is 80% clickbait. The Autobild headline is clickbait, but the actual article content is more measured.
It's my understanding that 2019 engine is a development of 2018. So I don't think anything radical has been done over the winter other than ongoing refinement of whatever solution Honda has. That "should" indicate measured progress forward and less of an indication of a McLaren style fiasco. Time will tell however.
Richard