Honda is coming up with its first major engine update of this season and all eyes on how much power and performance will it be able to provide Toro Rosso.
Canada would be a power-sensitive race, and hence Honda had to come up with this upgrade.
The Honda technical director, Toyoharu Tanabe has confirmed that Honda haven’t really compromised on reliability for this power upgrade.
The upgrade is primarily focussed around the internal combustion engine, the techincal director confirmed.
“We are introducing an updated PU for this event, fitting it to both cars,” said Tanabe.
“The updates are mainly to the ICE, focusing on improving performance. The Montreal circuit is known for its long straights, where over 60% of the lap is spent at full throttle.
“There are slow corners after the long straights and this means that good driveability is again important as is rapid turbo response.
“All these features mean that the power unit is one of the key elements here, which is why it has traditionally been the venue for engine manufacturers to introduce updates.” he added.
The Canadian GP is also a ‘test’ of sorts for Honda, as Red Bull will be closely monitoring their progress in Canada, as Horner earlier confirmed that Canada would be a virtual face-off between Renault and Honda regarding the engine supplier role from next season on.
Renault too might be bringing an update for the race, thereby giving Red Bull a fair lens to view both the engines from.
Renault want Red Bull to take a prompt decision on the engine supplier for next season, so that it can plan accordingly.
Hopefully this weekend brings more clarity for Red Bull.
