Honda 2015 F1 Season

[RichardA]

It all kicks off this weekend in Australia! 

Honda back in F1 as an engine supplier to McLaren, with Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso in the driving seat.

http://www.mclaren.com/formula1/team/

I'll keep you posted on the teams and drivers' progress here and on Twitter.

2015 Race Calendar

Mar 15 Australian Grand Prix
Mar 29 Malaysia Grand Prix
Apr 12 Chinese Grand Prix
Apr 19 Bahrain Grand Prix
May 10 Spanish Grand Prix
May 24 Monaco Grand Prix
Jun 7 Canadian Grand Prix
Jun 21 Austrian Grand Prix
Jul 5 British Grand Prix
Jul 26 Hungarian Grand Prix
Aug 23 Belgian Grand Prix
Sep 6 Italian Grand Prix
Sep 20 Singapore Grand Prix
Sep 27 Japanese Grand Prix
Oct 11 Russian Grand Prix
Oct 25 United States Grand Prix
Nov 1 Mexican Grand Prix
Nov 15 Brazilian Grand Prix
Nov 29 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

[Garyman]

Should be interesting 

[VicW]

McLaren/Honda's pre-season testing has been a disaster completing very few laps and failing to complete a simulated race distance.
It is believed that the power plant, it's not just a petrol engine these days but a complex hybrid, was running on reduced power yet the majority of the problems were power plant related.
Practice for the first GP of the season today, the Oz GP, was another problem day.
So it's not looking good for McLaren/Honda.

Vic.

[RichardA]

Race report:

http://www.mclaren.com/formula1/2015/australian-grand-prix/australian-grand-prix-race-report-2015/

[madasafish]

So basically a waste of money for 2015.. and probably not competitive in 2016 either..

[RichardA]

Malaysian GP this weekend, Button and Alonso in 17th and 18th positions on the grid after qualifying.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/2015/malaysian-grand-prix/results/qualifying

[RichardA]

In case you missed it, Button and Alonso failed to finish at Malaysia the other week.

Chinese GP tomorrow with Button in 17th and Alonso in 18th on the grid.

[VicW]

How do they keep smiling although with their salaries I guess I could laugh all the way to the bank !

Alonso must be wondering if he made the right move and since he is known to speak his mind I reckon he'll be the first to crack.

Vic.

[culzean]

They finished 12 and 13 in China,  above Lotus and Red Bull cars so making progress,  I think each team only allowed 4 engines per driver for whole season so Honda with new engine have to make haste slowly because if they wreck too many engines it is a major problem

Chinese circuit is fast with long straights so this was test for engine rather than chassis.

all Honda lovers should keep the faith in Honda engineering - they are doing the right thing by making haste slowly

[harry22673]

That button overtake with Maldonado
Makes you wonder what's actually going on when the car can just pull a move like that

[RichardA]

Bahrain GP today with Button in 20th (last) position and Alonso in 14th on the grid:

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/motor-racing/bahrain-grand-prix-2015-lewis-hamilton-powers-to-pole-as-nico-rosbergs-ferrari-fears-materialise-with-sebastian-vettel-in-second-10186958.html

[culzean]

Bahrain - Alonso came in 11th (just outside points) and Button did not start race.

new type R doing well in BTCC - Matt Neal top of drivers standings and Shedden 3rd

[VicW]

Button's car apparently had a problem with its electrical recovery system, part of its hybrid system, that they couldn't fix before the race started.
The other engine manufacturers, Ferrari, Mercedes and Renault have had twice as long to develop their power plants plus they have had a whole season's racing and except for Mercedes they still haven't got it quite right so we should give Honda a chance.

Vic.

[guest4078]

They said on the telly that Button had an electrical fire in free practice and that had damaged the loom and some components. They replaced as much as they could but systems kept failing.

[RichardA]

http://www.mclaren.com/formula1/2015/spanish-grand-prix/spanish-grand-prix-race-report-2015/

Spanish GP, Button finishes in 16th and Alonso DNF due to rear brake issue.