Honda did not set high enough targets for itself at the start of the 2016 season, according to head of F1 project Yusuke Hasegawa.
Following a difficult first season back in F1 as power unit supplier to McLaren, Honda focused on improving its reliability during the off-season last year as well as addressing an ERS deficit. While there was a clear step forward this year - with the McLaren points tally rising from 25 points in 2015 to 76 this season - Hasegawa admits the initial goals were not ambitious enough.
“Of course we set a target,” Hasegawa told F1i. “But honestly speaking, the target we set wasn’t big enough or good enough. So we weren’t optimistic enough with our target. I think the other teams were doing a very good job.”
Asked if Honda made the improvement it had hoped for over the winter ahead of the 2016 season, Hasegawa replied: “From a reliability point of view, yes.
“But it wasn't true, actually. I thought in Barcelona that if we can complete the races then we would have a lot of chances to get points. But it wasn’t the case, actually. So that is why it is obvious that we need to find more performance.”
However, Hasegawa says Honda was “definitely” motivated by the progress it made during the season as it delivered upgrades to the power unit throughout the year.
“We introduced a new turbine in Canada, a new combustion [update] in Silverstone and a new engine in Belgium. So every step I saw [progress]. I was very happy for our members because they can very clearly feel that they could make [improvements] and they then get some feedback from the results.”
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