Honda's Tanabe: 'Mexico not an easy weekend for us'
Published on 23 October 2019 by Niels Hendrix
Technical director of Honda Racing F1, Toyoharu Tanabe, previews the upcoming Grand Prix of Mexico: “The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez poses many interesting questions for both chassis and PU engineers, most of them linked to the fact that Mexico City sits at 2.3 kilometres above sea level.”
He explains: “The low air density means the PU turbine has to work harder to deliver the same power as at other tracks, therefore we have to adjust our power unit settings accordingly. The fact the air is thinner also means it is less effective at cooling car components and the power unit and it also affects the aero efficiency, so that cars run in high downforce configuration.”
Tanabe continues: “We have data from past races to refer to when it comes to preparing for the weekend, but we have seen a clear improvement in performance from some of our competitors over recent races, therefore we are not expecting this to be an easy weekend for us. Historically, the Mexican Grand Prix is a significant race for us as it was at this circuit that Honda took its first ever Formula 1 win with its own car, back in 1965 and we hope to perform well again this weekend.”
