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Honda will run the third version of its power unit at the French Grand Prix this weekend, confirms Honda's F1 boss Toyoharu Tanabe.
The Red Bull duo of Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly will be fitted with the new components, while Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat will also receive the new parts.
Having already reached the limit for some power unit components, Kvyat is set to take a grid penalty for the race, while the Red Bulls will escape with facing a demotion.
Component usage as of the Canadian GP
| No. | Driver | Team | ICE | TC | MGU-H | MGU-K | ES | CE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Pierre Gasly | Red Bull | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 23 | Alexander Albon | Toro Rosso | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
*Drivers can use 3 ICE, TC and MGU-H penalty-free, and 2 MGU-Ks, ES and CE penalty-free.
Alexander Albon is set to receive the upgrade at a later stage. Honda specifies that the new parts are related to the internal combustion engine and turbocharger.
"At the Paul Ricard circuit we will be running an upgraded Spec 3 Power Unit on Max, Pierre and Daniil’s cars," stated Honda F1 boss Toyoharu Tanabe.
"The changes to the previous specification are mainly around the ICE and the turbocharger. In this instance, our engineers at the Sakura, Japan R&D facility have worked closely with other departments within Honda, specifically the Aero engine development department.
"Their work and ours has many common technical features. For example, our 2018 update to the MGU-H, which dramatically improved its reliability, came as a result of our collaboration with them.
"In producing this Spec 3 PU, we have updated the turbocharger thanks to the knowledge and technology of the Aero engine department in the area of aerodynamic design, working alongside turbocharger manufacturer IHI.
"Our test bench data shows a power increase over the previous version of our PU, however we know that we have not yet matched the figures from the manufacturers currently leading the championship.
"But it’s a step in the right direction and we will continue our development throughout the rest of the season, calling on the resources of the whole company."
Red Bull and Max Verstappen have two podium finishes to their name so far in 2019, coming at Australia and Spain.
With the team's home race in Austria coming up in just over a week, it is likely that the energy drink squad is using France to evaluate the Honda upgrades before the race at Speilberg.
Grand Prix of Belgium
G. Zhou
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Replies (8)
Login to replyf1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
Here's hoping it runs nicely. Would be good to see Verstappen mixing it up
boudy
Posts: 1,168
Mercedes and upgrade in Canada, Ferrari's PU is leading on outright HP, Renault is rolling out an upgrade which supposedly would put them ahead of Honda, Honda is also bringing an upgrade.
So in ranking them on PU alone (questionable!!):
1 - Ferrari
2 - Mercedes 0.2
3 - Honda 0.4-0.5
4 - Renault 0.5 - 0.7
f1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
I think Honda and Renault are closer than that
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Yeah, and I kinda think it is closer between Ferrari and Merc' too. But I kinda think that Renault and Honda are at the very least equal now.
f1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
I'm not so sure, I think Ferrari is quite far ahead of Mercedes
abhidbgt
Posts: 283
I feel that since Ferrari is aerodynamically more efficient their advantage in power department gets exaggerated.
f1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
I guess it is hard to know without the data
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
That's pretty early, innit? I believe it was promised to Hockenheim. I am a bit concerned that it is out so early, but at the same time it could indicate great confidence in it. I really wonder whether Honda or Renault are better now. They are at the very least equal, and so far Honda has been a bit more impressive in the reliability field methinks. Oh, I want this to be good!