[Civil]

If you follow motorsports then you have probably heard of Fernando Alonso. The pro racer recently moved from working with Ferrari to working with McLaren.

Anyway, here he is posing with a Honda Civic Type R. Most likely a publicity stunt (meaning he got it for free). Nonetheless, its cool to see guys who really know their cars smiling with the Civic Type R. After all, it is the fastest production FWD car to ever lap the Nurburgring.

http://www.autoevolution.com/news/did-fernando-alonso-get-a-honda-civic-type-r-99061.html#

 

[5TAR]

Smart move for Honda to make, getting someone as known as he is among enthusiasts and it helps to build that association of the Type R and someone involved in motorsports in the way he is.

 

[Civil]

I mean the Type R is pretty serious. It's a fast car. The fastest FWD car to lap the Nurburgring. I think that this serves to accentuate that.

 

[Smartie]

I mean the Type R is pretty serious. It's a fast car. The fastest FWD car to lap the Nurburgring. I think that this serves to accentuate that.

Ah this is what Mac-Honda was talking about when they mentioned the boys would be getting upgrades for Spa this weekend...

See Honda is in some trouble as they've ran through their 2015 engine allotment, they've obviously had to turn to temporary measures
https://www.formula1.com/content/fom-website/en/latest/headlines/2015/7/alonso-expecting-a--different-mclaren--in-second-half-of-2015.html

The former champion also emphasised his awareness - and acceptance - of the fact that McLaren’s revived partnership with Honda is very much a long-term project, with the team having already used more power units this season than permitted under the original 2015 regulations.

"I am happy with the car, with the philosophy of developing it and with the next steps that will come,” he continued. “I am happy with the progress of Honda. Obviously we have had to use too many parts - in eight races five engines is a little bit sad - but if this means we are learning a lot it is very welcome.

Wonder if it'll be more competitive then the MP4-30, probabaly runs better in dirty air >

 

[Civil]

The former champion also emphasised his awareness - and acceptance - of the fact that McLaren’s revived partnership with Honda is very much a long-term project, with the team having already used more power units this season than permitted under the original 2015 regulations.

What exactly does that mean? You can only use so many different engines throughout the year?

 

[4Tires]

I think each driver may use a certain amount of power units (engine) during a championship season unless they drive for more than one team.

 

[Tim]

no more than 4 engines (honda 5 cause they just started)

 

[Civil]

What is the advantage of using multiple engines throughout the year? Is it wear and tear? Do they have more chances to improve the engine through modifications and development?

 

[RobbJK88]

What is the advantage of using multiple engines throughout the year? Is it wear and tear? Do they have more chances to improve the engine through modifications and development?

I would assume multiple engines would be a just in case situation... in the event one blows up or gets damaged in a crash they can swap it out. I'm sure it also allows continuous fine tuning through the season as well.

 

[5TAR]

What is the advantage of using multiple engines throughout the year? Is it wear and tear? Do they have more chances to improve the engine through modifications and development?

i can imagine wear and tear being one of them with those engines being run that hard and for as long as they are run at once. Seals and the usual would wear.

 

[Tim]

idd they all like to have a fresh motor for example the race at monza were top speed is important
a motor that already has run several races is not top notch anymore
but some engines are more susceptible (Renault and sad but true Honda) for this than others (Ferari and certainly Mercedes).

 

[4Tires]

It seems like everyone is allotted only a certain amount of engine parts per season and not the engine as a whole:
https://www.formula1.com/content/fom-website/en/championship/inside-f1/rules-regs/Power_Unit_and_ERS.html

 

[5TAR]

That would begin to make more sense since parts is what it really comes down to and what shows how good those parts are to holding up to what ever amount of abuse is thrown at them.

 

[Xhilr8n!]

These engineers can construct a motor to last one race or several. Performance and reliability pretty much a direct trade off. Ideally it would break just over the finish line. Years ago they actually made specific engines for qualifying, expecting just a few good laps and changing to another engine for the race. Not cheap but did achieve maximum performance.

To maybe help contain costs FIA has limited the number of engines, causing the engineers to move towards reliability.

Most folks don't know this but those motors are built to such a tight specification that they can not be started cold. Warm oil etc. has to be circulated through them to expand things to the point that movement of the internals is possible.

 

[Nessuno]

Nando also has a RCV