According to this article the Honda is 100BHP down on the merc and the ERS runs out of charge half-way down the straights, meaning for most of the straight they are down 300bhp. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/34164674 If that's true then McHRT scoring any points is a miracle
I find it difficult to believe they got the calculations on the size of the ERS so wrong. I wonder if the actual problem is that Honda gave McL a dimension/volume that the electricity store would be and McL designed the car with that space in mind. Then Honda couldn't actually deliver the capacity within the dimensions/volume. So there is no space in the car for a bigger energy store this year!!!! That is if it's Honda who design/build the energy store? Sounds a bit like Virgin designing a car with too small a fuel tank a few years ago!!!! School boy error.
That statement lost all credibility when it started with "Honda says" Layout change sounds like Turbo to me, it just isn't up to the job of charging the battery, maybe the whole PU is just too compact. Why have a Turbo designed to reduce lag when you have a motor independently spinning the turbo for you?
I wonder if they are thinking that if they don't have turbo lag then they don't need a motor/alternator attached to the turbo or you can use the additional stored electricity that would have been used to reduce turbo lag to allow electrical power to be used for longer. Maybe they thought they could reduce energy store if they didn't need electricity for reducing turbo lag!!! I think the new 2016 layout will allow them to fit an energy store that actually has the capacity to store a laps worth of power unlike the 2015 energy store which seems more like an AA battery.
Finally some revelations about the engine that has been obvious from the start. No way is their chassis terrible- it is one of their most innovative and sleak for a few years and had Prodromou stamped all over it. The car has never looked a poor handling car, we just have never had it up to the required speed to test it out! Just really feel for JB, who deserves another shot in a top car and sadly looks like he might walk away before the Honda project bears fruit.
We simply can't quantify the chassis. It could be the best, it could not be - they will not know until they are operating at front running pace. Like the Merc, it could go faster but is confined to the performance of the tyre. If Hondas engine worked the McLaren might be really quick but have to make extra stops due to tyre wear - would that make it a fast chassis or a good chassis? MB said in practise that it looked pretty poor through Ascari in practise and was no where near the 2nd best chassis claimed. However that could be down to the downforce levels? Either way, until they have a donkey that can kick I don't believe they can honestly know - how often have we seen wind tunnel figures and simulator figures quote how much of an improvement teams have made for it to turn up at track and be an absolute turd?
It is difficult to quantify it, you are right, but to finally have the revelation on power deficit being THAT big, you have to fancy that the chassis deficit is only a small portion of their problem and that at least McLaren cant be blamed for building a poor car. Seriously, 100 BHP down BEFORE you even consider ERS deployment? That's enough to stop anyone. Absolutely unbelievable. It looks (to my very untrained eye) that the McLaren has a similar front end to the Ferrari. In fact, they look really similar designs overall (when McL has the long nose). A lot of you guys will know more of the technical details- do you think they look similar? Would love to see this chassis go round with a proper power unit so we could start to see what they have built.
No your right the power deficit kills it before it gets going, but until it's at full pelt you simply can't rate it accurately. The main thing is that even if it's a fast chassis, that doesn't make it a good chassis. I think Ted saifpd the McLaren were losing 3 tenths in the corners but 3 seconds on the straights - as bad as the engine is - I don't think that's right either.
Apologies for using this paper as a quote, but, According to The Daily Mail, 'McLaren are so exasperated at Honda's woeful performance that they have written to the company's president, Takahiro Hachigo, calling on him to replace Arai'.
Jenson wasn't even keeping up down the straights with his DRS open and slipstream from the (Sauber?) that didn't have either If that didn't show honda whose fault it is I don;t know what will. The thing is, if Honda get it right, will they still want to have McLaren as their works team? There' a lot of bad blood now, it's beginning to look like a bad Vegas wedding.
http://www.thisisf1.com/2015/09/11/honda-could-test-f1-engine-in-super-formula-car/ horse....... bolted....... stable door...... Seriously, they are just considering this now.... and even then only to "prove what they have"? They should have had several of them bolted into nsx 's or formula cars and had it pounding around Suzuka 24 hours a day, 6 months before it was even near a McLaren.
I love the angle of the article. Honda are going to prove their power unit is good! Why don't they just concentrate on making it better than the Merc engine? Because they can't!!! Due to the tokens system they can't fix all the problems they have found. It really does seem that if McL pushed for the Honda engine a year earlier than Honda wanted they have done huge damage to Honda and themselves for the next few years. It seems stupid that Renault and Honda can't catchup due to rules designed to reduce costs. When Honda and to a lesser degree Renault are still spending big on trying to find more power. Maybe the FIA should have specified the max that the power units could be sold to teams for.
A great piece here if you have 10 minutes spare, McLaren-Honda's woes, progression and where they might go from here
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/14/motorsport/formula-one-mclaren-jenson-button-2016-news/ McLaren 'intend' to keep Button and Boullier says they are in a smooth transition for the 2016 car.
