The Honda-powered Red Bull team is currently in a close battle with Mercedes for the F1 titles, but recent races have been marred by starting penalties for its German manufacturer rival.
In Brazil, Lewis Hamilton, with his fifth internal combustion engine (ICE) of the season, will drop five places after taking another place in Turkey.
His team-mate Valtteri Bottas has blown even more engines and brought new engines with him in Italy, Russia and the USA.
This makes the race this weekend in Brazil the fifth Grand Prix out of the last six in which one of the Mercedes drivers had to put up with a drop in start.
When asked in Brazil if he was surprised that Mercedes had made so many changes, Tanabe said: “Yes, I’m pretty surprised. Change the ICE every week.
“So after that I can’t believe what’s going on and why. But from the point of view of the PU manufacturer, it is disappointing to get a PU penalty for the driver. “
While Mercedes had to endure a number of changes, Honda only needed one additional unit for its Red Bull drivers after they lost engines due to accidental damage at the beginning of the season.
Max Verstappen’s British Grand Prix unit was irreparably damaged in his crash at Silverstone, while Sergio Perez lost an engine after a pile-up in Hungary.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B
Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images
Tanabe said he was confident Honda could get through the rest of the campaign without further changes, with Verstappen adding its fourth engine to the Russian GP.
“The current plan is that we can manage the PUs for all drivers for the remainder of the season,” he said. “We had a few accidents during the season and then lost some PUs, but at the moment we have enough units for all drivers.”
When asked whether Honda could have completed the entire season with just three engines without the unexpected accident damage, Tanabe said: “I think so.”
The post Honda can’t believe Mercedes is receiving F1 engine penalties first appeared on monter-une-startup.
