Red Bull about 'too conservative' Honda: "We take a different approach"
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Helmut Marko would like to see Honda make more engine power available to Red Bull Racing. The Austrian race team thinks that the engine supplier is too conservative. The fact that the use of extra horsepower may be accompanied by a grid penalty is something they take for granted at Red Bull.
"Mercedes has certainly taken a big step with the engine", Marko begins to tell in an interview with Auto, Motor und Sport. With the German medium he says he is impressed by the power unit of the Brackley based race team. "They have a lot of power in qualifying mode. Honda is still too conservative with the engine settings."
Honda too conservative
It is common knowledge that the Japanese prefer not to take too many risks. In the first years after their return to Formula 1, one engine after another broke down in the McLaren and now Honda wants to avoid that, since popping power sources are not good advertising for the brand.
Red Bull would prefer Honda to let the reins celebrate a little more. "We take a different approach. We'd rather take an extra engine later in the season and then attack. If you take the grid penalty on the right track, the damage isn't very big," says Marko.
Problems Verstappen and Albon different
In the Grand Prix of Austria Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon both had problems with the RB16. By now it seems clear what caused these problems. "Honda left the engines running on the test bench in Japan early on Wednesday morning to repair the damage. They weren't two identical problems. One is probably related to the electrical system, the other could be related to the vibrations", concludes the 77-year-old Austrian.