Fed up 0 Report post Posted February 9, 2006 Honda have admitted that they are lagging behind Cosworth in the engine stakes at the moment - and believe they need to make a step forward if they are to challenge Renault at the front of the field. Shuhei Nakamoto, Honda's F1 engineering director, is adamant that despite the early promise shown by the RA106 there is plenty of room for improvement - especially on the engine front. In particular he believes that the performance of rival engine manufacturer Cosworth should act as a wake-up call to the team's engineers in Japan to make improvements to Honda's own power-unit. "At the moment Cosworth has done a good job and we are trailing behind them," he told autosport.com during testing at Jerez in Spain. "We should be able to produce better engines than we have now. "If we had the engine of that level (of Cosworth) in our car, then probably we will be able to beat Renault. But we have not, so we have got some work to do." Cosworth's new V8 engine has impressed Williams and onlookers with its power and high-revving capabilities. Mark Webber admitted yesterday that the engine was 'bloody good', while managing director Tim Routsis said at the launch of the new Williams car last month that he believed his company's engine was one of the best in the field. "My best opinion is that at the moment we are giving away very little to anybody, if anything," said Routsis. "But it will become much clearer in the run up to Bahrain." Despite Nakamoto's comments on the performance of Honda's engine, he believes that Honda Racing's chassis is a big step forward over last year's BAR007 - and should allow the team to return to the form it showed in 2004. "I am reasonably happy with the programme so far and Jenson has done lots of long runs, and he is comfortable with the car," added Nakamoto. "Also, Barrichello is getting there too. "We still have a lot more to come from fine tuning the chassis and the engine, and I think we are much closer to the performance of 2004. In fact, we should be better as we have gained experience in 2005 so we will not make the (strategy) mistakes we made in 2004." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jem of the Shire 0 Report post Posted February 9, 2006 Come on Honda! Work your asses off! F1 needs Jenson Button as its world champion!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pumpdoc 2 Report post Posted February 9, 2006 Come on Honda! Work your asses off! F1 needs Jenson Button as its world champion!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jenson_Rules 0 Report post Posted February 9, 2006 OMG, they arnt saying they are the best, could this be true? not saying they are going to win everything! Well at least they understand they have work to do to get to the front! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cavallino 2 Report post Posted February 9, 2006 Must be really bad for them to not say they're going to win everything Wonder what toobens is thinking now Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lure 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2006 This is good news for Williams Fans. I've said it before do not write Williams off!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YHR 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2006 This is good news for Williams Fans. I've said it before do not write Williams off!!! I am happy for Williams. Cosworth has a lot of experience with V8's. Looks like they are surprising a few. I bet JB is wondering about that $30,000,000 he paid to get away from Willliams, and then to hear Honda admit Cosworth has a better engine. Ouch. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alejandro 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2006 I am happy for Williams. Cosworth has a lot of experience with V8's. Looks like they are surprising a few. I bet JB is wondering about that $30,000,000 he paid to get away from Willliams, and then to hear Honda admit Cosworth has a better engine. Ouch. Probably Williams will have some podiums in the first races of the championship, but I think that the opposition will develope quickly better V8`s, so the most important issue is to know how fast Cosworth can develope a better engine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nojvnof1 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2006 Come on Honda! Work your asses off! F1 needs Jenson Button as its world champion!! Yes, because I'm losing soooooooo much sleep agonising over Button not being a World Champion and how it is having a devastating impact on F1. I agree with Alejandro. Williams-Cosworth should be strong early in the year and should grab points and podiums, however they will suffer from mid season onwards due to lack of development on the engine sides whilst most other teams will have updates pretty much for each race. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jem of the Shire 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2006 I am happy for Williams. Cosworth has a lot of experience with V8's. Looks like they are surprising a few. I bet JB is wondering about that $30,000,000 he paid to get away from Willliams, and then to hear Honda admit Cosworth has a better engine. Ouch. I still think Honda will be a lot more competitive than Williams. Does this mean Honda are also lagging behind Ferrari/Mercedes/Renault/BMW engines?? Hope not! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
