McLaren: Button already perceives the progress of the Honda engine
With a version B of the Honda engine and new power units installed for the occasion, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso might be turning a corner in a difficult season this weekend. The gains are far from spectacular, but according to the English driver, they would be real.
It is on the occasion of the Belgian Grand Prix that McLaren-Honda debuts the B version of its engine, after the use of 3 tokens by the Japanese engine manufacturer to improve combustion in particular. After a day of testing, the gains are not significant: Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button are still between the Saubers and the Manors, one second off the top 10.
During a session marked by numerous yellow and red flags, the McLaren-Honda drivers did not test their new Honda engines enough to form a definitive opinion on the improvements made. Jenson Button’s first impression, however, remains very positive: « We’re racing with a new engine this weekend, and you can really feel an improvement. However, you can’t really know the extent of it unless you explore all the data, which is a long task. (…) The car improved greatly throughout the day. The afternoon was much better—the balance is still a bit tricky with a full tank, but with low fuel, the car behaves reasonably well. »
Fernando Alonso is not as categorical as his teammate. Nevertheless, the Spanish double world champion places his optimism in the team’s data: « It’s difficult to make comparisons between the two engine characteristics: you must compare two engines on the same day, and that’s impossible. Moreover, the characteristics of the circuit – and it will be the same at Monza – do not match our car at all. However, the data tells us that there is more power delivered. »
Let’s remember that Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button received a total of 55 grid penalties due to multiple engine changes. They will, therefore, start on the back row on Sunday.
