Abu Dhabi: Given a second chance, the boss of Honda would be willing to start afresh with better determination and preparation in the world of Formula One.
“If I was given a fresh opportunity I would spend more time in the preparation of our team for Honda,” Masashi Yamamoto, general manager of Honda’s motorsport division told Gulf News on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
“I seriously think our preparation period in the past three years was far too short. This is something I would like to change if I was given a fresh white page.”
Honda have been among the mainstays of Formula 1 racing since making their debut more than 50 years back in 1964. The global financial crisis forced Honda to make an exit from Formula 1 racing in 2008, but a few months later it was announced that then team principal Ross Brawn had led a management buyout of the Brackley team.
The team raced successfully as Brawn GP in 2009. In May 2013, the team announced their return to Formula 1 from the 2015 season under a works agreement with McLaren to supply them with the V6 engines and kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) units. The power units proved unreliable and McLaren parted ways with Honda after three years while making Honda turn to Toro Rosso starting in 2018.
“I sincerely hope we don’t have the same problems now with them [Toro Rosso],” Yamamoto shrugged.
“McLaren is a top team and a person like Jenson Button [British driver] was a super champion. Honda was not ready for a top team and that is a fact. Toro Rosso has young drivers and I think Honda can develop them within the Toro Rosso team,” he admitted.
“Also Toro Rosso is a team with a shorter existence than McLaren and they are more flexible. It is easier to exchange opinions and talks with Franz Tost [Team Principal of Toro Rosso]. We can discuss informally as the situation is not as formal as now,” Yamamoto added.
The general manager, however, cherished the high moments at Honda with stars like Button in the past and Fernando Alonso at the moment. “Honda could learn a lot from their great technical skills. And obviously Fernando {Alonso] and Jenson [Button] have different driving styles of driving. This was interesting for Honda. It is important to understand the differences between the two champions. Their talent can be utilised as models for Honda young drivers and they can learn a lot from these exceptional champions,” he added.
Yamamoto also appreciated all the good memories his team leaves with from their relationship with McLaren. “After two years of working with McLaren, we changed a lot our approach to Formula 1. We learnt a lot from McLaren. We have changed a lot of our working habits after two years. We have made big changes after the difficult seasons,” he admitted.
“The toughest season was for sure the first year of working together and encountering a number of disappointments. This third year however, things were not easy at all. I would even say it was tough as well. But we were in a position to make a recovery a bit quicker than the first year or the second year,” Yamamoto added.
