Red Bull’s new power unit to “get the best performance out of the E10 fuel” :Honda’s R&D head

Red Bull’s new power unit to “get the best performance out of the E10 fuel” :Honda’s R&D head

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The 2021 Formula 1 season was something the team Red Bull and their fans craved for since 2013 as their Dutchman Max Verstappen helped them to regain the F1 title. Max Verstappen ended the dominant run team Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton had over the years especially in the hybrid car era.

Other than the ultimate challenge given by Max Verstappen who pushed their challenger beyond the limits, Red Bull’s power unit supplier Honda had their stakes in the title. Honda returned to F1 as red Bulls  power unit supplier in 2018 and was instrumental in their successes since.

Honda announced that they no longer will be power unit supplier of Red Bull, but Honda and Red Bull came to an agreement giving Red Bull the right to use their intellectual property. This means that despite the official withdrawal of the Japanese manufacturer will provide Red Bull with PU’s which will be branded as Red Bull Powertrains from 2022 up to 2025.

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Now, Yasuaki Asaki, the head of Honda’s R&D at Honda’s Sakura headquarters has come out expressing his opinions on the Power Unit Red Bull’s challenger RB18 and their sister team  AlphaTauri’s challenger AT03 will from 2022 in an interview with  Japanese edition of Motorsport.com.

Find out what head of Honda’s R&D Yasuaki Asaki said

Yasuaki Asaki with AlphaTauri (then-Toro Rosso) boss Franz Tos
Honda Racing Head of Power Development Yasuaki Asaki (R) with AlphaTauri (then-Toro Rosso) boss Franz Tos

Yasuaki Asaki says that Honda have been working hard since last year to make the new PU possible. Yasuaki Asaki went on to say about dealing with the new F1 fuel E10, with the engine framework already been renewed there are in work to make the fuel and engine compatible. The Honda official added that the new fuel has less power and calories for the same weight but added that abnormal combustion, is much easier to control is much easier to control with the new PU’s.

“There are always details and problems to be fixed. But the concept, the basic part, had to be done last year to be ready for the season,” says Yasuaki Asaki.

“The most important thing is to deal with E10 fuel, I think that’s all there is to it. The engine framework has already been renewed, so we have made changes to get the best performance out of the E10 fuel,” Yasuaki Asaki added.

“When you use E10 fuel, you have less power and calories for the same weight. This is a characteristic of alcohol fuel. On the other hand, knocking, which is abnormal combustion, is much easier to control,” Yasuaki Asaki explained.

Yasuaki Asaki further explained that the main goal is to achieve maximum efficiency with balancing the new Fuel with the PU as the fuel reduces  engine power and the amount of electricity generated. When asked about how much horsepower has been lost due to E10 fuel he said that’s a secret adding the other team announcing that there won’t be a difference from last years power  are struggling to find more power.

“The goal is to achieve maximum efficiency but, with E10 fuel, the engine power is reduced and the amount of electricity generated is also reduced. We have been testing the balance between the two,” Yasuaki Asaki said.

“That’s a secret. Other companies seem to be saying that it will be about the same as last year, but I think the fact that they are making such an announcement means that they are having a hard time producing the same level of power as last year,” Yasuaki Asaki explained.

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