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Honda with updates in France: "I think we can evolve together"
- GPblog.com
It was an excellent weekend for Honda in Azerbaijan. The Baku City Circuit Grand Prix looked set to be a one-two punch for Red Bull Racing, but Max Verstappen's left rear tyre blew out three laps from the end. Sister team AlphaTauri also did well, finishing third and seventh.
Honda's Formula One chief engineer of AlphaTauri Masamitsu Motohashi owes the good performance to a perfectly run Friday last week. "Yes, we started from FP1 with a good set-up and we were able to fine tune the car during the first day." The integration chassis and engine was perfect in Azerbaijan according to Honda.
Honda meets challenge
That worked out extremely well for them, as the Baku circuit is one of the trickiest on the calendar for engine suppliers. The second sector is very twisty, while sector 3, with its long straight, is very demanding on the electrical system. To not lose too much top speed, the drivers have to be very frugal with the use of their energy earlier in the lap.
"Yes. It's definitely a tricky circuit in terms of energy management, but thanks to the efforts of HRD Sakura and Milton Keynes, I think we were able to achieve a very high level of competitiveness," Motohashi said in conversation with AS-Web. The top man is hoping for a similar scenario in France when Honda introduces new engines. "We are learning a lot every race and we can see where we need to make some adjustments. I think we can evolve together."