Sometimes you get lucky. Be a special guest for a deep dive into Honda Formula 1 during the race weekend in Francorchamps. Visit to the pit garage, interviews with the Japanese Honda top managers that arrange everything around the RA619 hybrid F1 engine and, as a last surprise, Rob van Ginneken has a chat with Max Verstappen. 

One thing is certain: Max Verstappen is always sharp. Not only on the job, but also in an interview. It doesn’t take 20 seconds for Max – he is sitting next to me – to grin and point at my notepad. “Wrong brand,” he reports. 

That’s right, because it’s one of a Peugeot-model launch in – of all places – his hometown Monte Carlo. During the Formula 1 press conference later, he also reacts sharply to a question from a colleague about the ‘dangers’ of being teammate to him. They usually leave or get returned to the Torro Rosso team because they cannot get close to his performance. Important detail: his new teammate Alexander Albon is sitting next to him in the pressroom for the first time.

Visibly annoyed: “I’m not going to answer that. What should I say to that? You just don’t ask questions like that, do you?”

In our conversation I asked Verstappen earlier what he notices from the enormous army of Dutchmen in the stands at speeds up to far above 300km/h.

Laughing: “The Dutch fans cannot be missed with their orange clothing. At Eau Rouge and along Kemmel, everything turns orange. Up to the smoke bombs. Yes that motivates me. It’s great to see so many fans take the trouble to travel here. And to other circuits. “

Recently, things have improved in the speed of your Red Bull, with your first pole position and two wins. Where does that come from? And do you see opportunities in the rest of the season?

“Next year will be different, that will definitely be a busy year, so to say. The progress started with the Honda engine. We have taken a lot of small steps forward that together worked well, while the other teams did not make much progress. But at the same time there are improvements to the racing car itself. New spoilers brought a lot of gain in Austria and there are a few other changes that worked. Smaller steps.”

After the third generation of the Honda engine this year, a new one has since been deployed, which they call “specification 4”. Red Bull teammate Albon and Torro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat got it first in Belgium. Why? Strategic decision, reports Honda. You don’t want Verstappen in his home race to be placed backwards on the grid, because the engine has been replaced. 

It didn’t make a difference, we now know.

That’s how it works in Formula 1. Chess with engines, you could call it. I'm also quite curious what you notice of the change as a driver? I ask Kvyat, who is also available for a chat. 

We have taken a lot of small steps forward that together worked well- Max Verstappen

“To be honest, you don’t really feel a handful of horsepower extra, you can just tell by the lap times. You start really noticing it yourself with an improvement of a few tenths of a second per round. That is a really big step.”

The performance is impressive anyway. The 1.6-litre V6 together with the electric MGU-K engine periodically – seconds a lap – squeezes out between 900 and 1,000hp. Of which 120kW or 163 electric horsepower. The combustion engine runs 15,000rpm.

The electrical energy in the 1,5kWh battery is generated by HGU-H and MGU-K, that harvest it from heat and from the turbo and braking forces. In an interview with the Honda team leader Toyoharu Tanabe we do not get any further ‘hard’ numbers, but he underlines that phenomenally complicated technology is needed to make everything ‘work together’ reliably.

“We are now already working ahead for next year. Most of the work is in the turbo, the MGU-H and MGU-K. We have been testing and learning for five years. There is a special department in Milton Keynes working on battery, high voltage components and control-units.”

“At Honda, hundreds of specialists are working on the engine. Also because an engine goes there for maintenance after every race, there is also a constant development. You find something new every month, a permanent search. Our philosophy is: if you race you must win too.”

I congratulate Tanabe on the first Honda Formula 1 wins since 2006. It means a lot to the team, he says. And obviously to him personally. Tanabe was moved to tears on the prizegiving podium. Nearly got there late, after the national hymns were played. He wasn’t expecting to be called to the podium, he says. 

Back to the engine developments. There are reports there is a successful cooperation with Honda aircraft jet department.

“We have indeed learned a lot by working with jet engine technicians. These engines also work at extremely high speeds and at very high temperatures. Flow technology and materials are crucial. This allowed us to improve the reliability of the turbo – there were too many penalties – and MGU-H. And also improve the efficiency.”

Let’s talk technology. What does the new spec 4 engine bring to the teams?
“After the steps in MGU’s and turbo this new specification mainly has more power due to improvements in the combustion engine itself. The combustion process has improved.”

More to come?

“We are now working with Exxon on a modified fuel. The room for manoeuvring in regulations is small but that can also bring extra power.”

Interesting detail: other Formula 1 teams are known to have a very sophisticated systems with a very lean fuel mixture. And combustion in a small pocket of rich mixture. Perhaps it looks a bit like the technology that Mazda has launched? 

Tanabe gives us the Japanese ‘definite maybe’ answer. Honda is still learning, he says. But developments ‘may’ follow the same directions as the teams they are chasing.

When you walk through the garage in the pit lane, it is only clear how much work there is behind such a racing car. You see nine in a pit box, but with Red Bull alone you talk about 900 technicians in total, on the job and at their base. For both teams there are also up to 80 Honda technicians in and around the garage. They follow the hundreds of sensors on the engine, among other things.

The tyres? During a pit walk we count 13 pre-chosen sets for each car. 

“They are gradually brought up to temperature from three, four hours in advance, so that they are 100 degrees at the right moment and 80 degrees behind. Exactly how much depends on the weather and the track.”

Why is there a difference in temperature front and back?

“That has to do with the enormous heat generated by the brakes and the difference in airflow. You want them to be optimal at the start.”

Talking about temperature: why is it that Mercedes seems to struggle in hot weather, while the Honda doesn’t look too troubled?

Tanabe: “I cannot look into the data of other teams, but there is a fine balance between aerodynamic performance and cooling of the power unit. One can go at the cost of the other.”