Another tough weekend ahead for McLaren and Honda in China

Eric Boullier will not arrive in China with a smile on his face. Indeed, the sports director of the McLaren team expects to experience one of the most difficult weekends.

The Shanghai circuit, made up of long straights favoring engine power, will once again reveal the shortcomings of the Honda power units: « Shanghai is known to be one of the most unpredictable weekends. It’s tough on cars, tires, and power units. Additionally, the weather is often fickle. But I can predict that we won’t be as fortunate with our pace compared to our rivals as we were in Australia. The characteristics of the Chinese circuit are very different from Melbourne: it’s long with fast straights which will highlight our engine weaknesses even more than in Australia, » states the Frenchman.

Since the beginning of the season, McLaren no longer hesitates to openly point out the difficulties encountered by Honda in the design and development of its power unit. In response to these criticisms, the Japanese manufacturer prefers to highlight the reliability of the engine that equips the cars of Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne. “We have been able to confirm our reliability regarding the power unit, but we also know that we still have improvements to make in terms of performance,” says Yusuke Hasegawa, the head of Honda’s Formula 1 project.

The Japanese engineer wants to remain positive despite the enormous pressure McLaren places on his team’s shoulders: « Once again, we will work with McLaren to ensure that we do our best. It’s important to gather as much information as possible. It’s a long season, and we are looking for progress in every race. » he concluded.