HONDA The Power of Dreams

Honda, embarking on a new chapter of its F1 journey with Toro Rosso, completed pre-season testing smoothly. Although they went in to the season-opener feeling positive, both Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley failed to advance beyond the Q1 qualifying round. The race ended in disappointment, with Gasly finishing 15th, a lap down, and Hartley retiring due to a power unit (PU) issue.

In the following round in Bahrain, Gasly, who had his PU replaced due to the previous race’s issues, showed remarkable improvement. He finished within the top 10 in all three free practice (FP) sessions and maintained the momentum in qualifying, advancing to Q3 and securing 6th place on the grid.

On the starting grid, Gasly was moved up from 6th to 5th due to a top-5 driver incurring a penalty. He made a strong start to move up to 4th, and despite being momentarily overtaken, regained his position, which he maintained with a steady pace. While benefiting from the misfortune of top teams dropping out, he lapped with flawless driving and a pace demonstrating his potential, claiming 4th place at the checkered flag. Meanwhile, Hartley narrowly missed entering Q3, and started from 11th on the grid. An incident immediately after the start resulted in a 10-second penalty, from which is struggled to recover, and finished 13th. He was subsequently handed a 30-second penalty for failing to maintain his position during the formation lap, dropping him down to 17th post-race. Nevertheless, his race pace was strong enough for a points-scoring position, a result satisfying for both the team and Honda.

The team introduced significant updates, and Honda worked rapidly to address issues from the season opener. The results from Round 2 brought great expectations and confidence to both the team and Honda. “Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in Toro Rosso Honda’s history,” said Toro Rosso Team Principal Franz Tost after the race.

While the strong results in Round 2 brought hope,, they were far from enough to elevate the team to the top-tier of Formula 1. However, the 2018 season progressed with a tangible sense of steady progress, including Brendon Hartley claiming his first points finish with 10th place in Round 4, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

In Round 6, Monaco, Pierre Gasly, who had felt good about the car from day one, performed strongly, advancing to Q3 in qualifying, and securing 10th on the starting grid. With grid positions being crucial in Monaco, this set the stage for a promising race.

Early in the race, Gasly conserved his tires while maintaining a steady pace in 10th. Running on hypersoft tires, he delayed his pit stop over 10 laps longer, successfully overcutting other teams. Pitting in 6th and rejoining in 10th, Gasly effectively moved up to 8th place, eyeing the front-runners who still needed to pit. This was the result of excellent car balance and Gasly’s tire management.

In the latter stages, Gasly closed in on the 8th place car, but Monaco is a track where overtaking is near-impossible. After 52 laps, however, the 8th place car slowed down due to mechanical issues, giving Gasly 7th place as the race entered its final stage. A close battle between cars 6th to 9th ensued, but positions remained unchanged to the end. Gasly finished 7th, claiming his second points finish of the season. This result, achieved through a smart pit strategy and Gasly’s persistent, steady driving, felt like a reward for the team and Honda’s hard work during the early part of the season.

Toro Rosso Honda had struggled to finish in the points after the Monaco GP, in races that everything seemed out of place, until Round 10, Germany, where Brendon Hartley finished 10th, securing the team’s first points in five races. This was followed by Pierre Gasly scoring points in rounds 12, Hungary and 13, Belgium. With the team scoring points in three consecutive races, it appeared to be on an upward trajectory, but then points once more became elusive. In response, Honda introduced the RA618H Spec. 3 power unit (PU) with a new combustion system in Round 16, Russia, aiming for improved performance. However, unexpected resonance occurred, limiting its use to just the first day. The Spec. 3, Honda’s last-ditch effort for a comeback in the season, was carried over to the next race, the Japanese GP.

For the 30th anniversary Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit, Honda became the title sponsor for the first time, expressing gratitude to fans and Formula 1. The official event name was designated as the “Formula 1 2018 Honda Japanese Grand Prix”.

During Free Practice, the team worked on tuning the updated STR13’s aerodynamic parts and the RA618H Spec. 3 PU. In qualifying, Toro Rosso Honda unleashed its potential, with both cars advancing to Q3. Hartley secured 6th place and Gasly 7th on the grid, a fantastic result. It was a moment that electrified the many fans who had flocked to Suzuka.

The race was highly anticipated, but a pre-start incident occurred: FIA technical commissioners surrounded Gasly’s car on the grid, creating a tense atmosphere. They had been notified that a previously approved change to the PU mapping was unauthorized. During qualifying, Gasly had been concerned about resonance with the Spec. 3 PU and asked for improvements, leading to the team applying to the FIA for a mapping change. Normally, changes to the car after qualifying is not permitted, so the request was initially rejected. However, after revising the details and reapplying, permission was granted. Yet, just before the race, the decision was yet again overturned to disallow the changes, and the team was instructed to revert the mapping back to its original state, on grid.

Whether this commotion negatively impacted the race remains unclear. Starting from good positions, both Toro Rosso Hondas delivered lackluster performances throughout the race, hampered by a poorly coordinated strategy in the new specced cars’ first race on the challenging Suzuka circuit. Hartley, who was off to a slow start, dropped to 11th by the second lap and subsequently struggled with rear tire overheating, preventing him from improving his pace. The issue persisted even after a tire change, resulting in a hard-fought 13th-place finish. Gasly initially held 6th position, but lost significant ground after misjudging his tire change timing once his pace dropped. Despite a late-race push, he finished 11th. Neither Toro Rosso Honda car managed to secure a points-scoring result.

Since then, Toro Rosso Honda continued to struggle with inconsistent results, with Gasly’s 10th-place finish in Round 19, Mexico being their only points-scoring result. Problems arose with the under-developed PU, and there were frequent instances where the car setup and race strategy failed to match. Toro Rosso ended the season 9th in the Constructors’ Championship. However, both the team and Honda achieved steady growth, and that labor, though not yet reflected in the results, would bear fruit the following season.