Honda puts 'countermeasures' in place for Red Bull engines issues

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Honda says it has introduced "countermeasures" to avoid the engine issues that blighted the races of both Max Verstappen and Alex Albon last weekend in Austria.

Verstappen retired after just 11 laps in the season opening Austrian Grand Prix, dogged by an apparent electrical issue, while Albon was sidelined in the closing laps of the event shortly after his clash with Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton.

Both Red Bull drivers' power units were given a clean bill of health by Honda, having avoided any damage caused by the underlining electrical issue.

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"The problems on the two Aston Martin Red Bull Racing cars in the last race were both electrical, but caused by different issues," said Honda F1 technical director Toyoharu Tanabe.

"We have been analysing both these matters together with the teams and we have put countermeasures in place for this weekend.

"As our power units do not have any damage caused by those issues, Max and Alex will use their same PUs this weekend.

"This weekend, we must aim to finish the race with all four cars and achieve a good result with them."

Despite the botched start to his 2020 season, Verstappen remained upbeat ahead of this weekend's second race at the Red Bull Ring.

"I’m looking forward to hopefully having a more positive weekend," said the Dutchman.

"We were a bit down on pace compared to Mercedes in qualifying so we definitely need to close that gap to fight them in that area rather than on strategy.

"Our pace is usually a bit better in the race than in quali but there is still quite a bit of work to do which the engineers are flat out on.

"We have ideas and the direction to work on for this weekend so that’s positive."

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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.