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Honda's Hasegawa: engine redesign not a mistake

Despite continued depressed performance, Honda F1 boss Yusuke Hasegawa is sticking to his guns, believing it was not a fundamental mistake to redesign its engine for this year.

Honda suffered from dismal performance and reliability when it joined the fray in 2015, but a semblance of improvement and consistency started to appear last season.

The Japanese manufacturer decided however to design a completely new power unit for 2017, with the hope of slowly but surely bridging the gap with its rivals on the engine front.

To no avail unfortunately as Honda endlessly continues to struggle.

"I don’t think we made a complete mistake from last year’s performance," Hasegawa answered when asked if a redesign of its engine had been a mistake.

"We knew that we have to change everything, not only the package but also the combustion, so we tried to modify all areas.

"Some areas we succeeded, to reduce the weight and lower the COG, but yeah, definitely we couldn’t get enough power from the combustion.

"So, yeah, it is just an excuse, but we still need time. But we don’t think we made a huge mistake, the direction was right."

Honda facing usual challenges in Russia

In light of its persisting difficulties, Honda could hardly invoke progress. But Hasegawa insists improvement will emerge, with time.

"We are very much disappointed with our current situation. But because the base concept is correct, we believe we can make good progress in the middle of the season."

The Honda boss also insisted that the company still fully supports its Formula 1 involvement despite its complete lack of success.

"Stopping the Formula 1 activity [in previous years] gave us huge damage of the technology catch-up, so we really need to keep this activity going for longer.

"At this moment our board is very much committed to this activity and, yeah, they are very supportive. It’s no problem at all."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.