Honda replaces power unit parts for Bahrain Grand Prix

Honda’s partnership with Toro Rosso was always going to be the point of discussion this season after years of frustration with McLaren where Honda’s engine had serious reliability issues, leaving a bad taste in the mouth for Alonso and co.

However, Barcelona testing was an indication that the script being fed to all of us could have been wrong, as the Toro Rosso was running fine, while Mclaren was breaking down on every other turn.

The problem seemed with McLaren and Honda were smiling in silence.

But Australia was different and brought back old memories for Honda, as Pierre Gasly’s Toro Rosso succumbed to an engine-induced retirement.

Honda’s technical director, Toyoharu Tanabe, confirmed that the internal combustion engine of Gasly’s car had been damaged. The issue had been caused due to a problem with the turbo and MGU-H.

Honda have confirmed that they have modified the turbo and MGU-H for both the Toro Rosso cars for the Bahrain GP. Gasly’s car also has a new ICE.

Toro Rosso will need to keep in mind that cars are allowed to have only three ICE, MGU-H and turbo components for the entire season and any more freshly used components could result in a grid penalty.

“Replacing components for the second race is obviously a difficult decision and not ideal, given that the number of power units and ancillary components is now limited to just three per season,” said Tanabe.

“However, we believe this is the right way forward and we will continue our development in order to ensure the same issue does not reoccur.

“Although Sakhir is a tough track for the power unit, we hope to move on from this difficult moment, as we focus on this race and those that follow.” he added.