Rob Marshall, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s chief engineering officer, said the partnership with Honda for the engine is still in its honeymoon season and there is still much work to be done.
Marshall says his relationship with Renault, which lasted 12 seasons, was “up and down” and subject to a conflict of interest.
He comments: “Our relationship with Renault is known to have been up and down. There were times when they were honestly brilliant and fully focused on helping us get to the front lines. Then they have their own team and understandably the focus was on that. There were some things we couldn’t do. “
Marshall says the way it works with Honda is very different. Both discuss the best way forward. He said, “The honeymoon is still in full swing. Honda is really professional, they are really prepared and they are pushing really hard. They understand what we need and we understand what we need to make it go well.
“It’s very different with Honda. We sit down and decide what is best. When we have our meetings, we don’t talk about what the engine does the fastest or the car the fastest, but rather which development collects the most championship points, so you also take the risk of reliability. This is how we decide whether to do something or not. So it’s a very different approach. “
Marshall admits, however, that there are areas around the engine that need improvement, which can help the team make tangible gains. He comments: “We can see areas around the unit where we can focus on the packaging. They’re not necessarily big chunks, but there are probably four or five areas where we think if we could change that, that would be better. You add five of these five things, or even three of these five things, and make a noticeable profit. It’s almost like a win if you know what I mean since Honda doesn’t have any real performance cost.
“It’s just about making different parts and moving a few things. They are very open to our suggestions and we understand if they say that this is a little difficult or that we don’t want it because it involves a reliability risk. “
In 2016, Red Bull Racing announced its partnership with Exxon Mobil. Marshall says there are developments happening with Esso Synergy racing fuel and the performance gains that come with it.
He said: “We have good communication so we deal with the hardware updates of the genset and when there are significant performance drops from fuel that coincide with these mechanical updates. On the Mobil 1 lubricant side, things are completely different, as we use a lot of lubricants ourselves. Knowing about this is important, so it is very important to understand the advantages and disadvantages of lubricants. ”
In the latest edition of RACE TECH, you can read all about how, after 12 years and 59 victories with Renault, Red Bull Racing defected into a resurgent Honda, compromised by an increasingly dysfunctional relationship. How, asks Matt Youson, will things be different this time? Get it here.
The post Red Bull Racing unveils its honeymoon with Honda first appeared on monter-une-startup.
