Tanabe from Honda: 'We hope to end the season with the best result possible'
Published on 27 November 2019 by Julien Lemmen
Technical director of Honda Racing F1, Toyoharu Tanabe, previews the upcoming Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the last race of the season: “285 days after we began winter testing, this Friday we will be back on track for the start of the final race weekend of the year in Abu Dhabi. Maybe we could have achieved more than we did, but either way the year went by very quickly. It’s been our first season in the hybrid era supplying two teams with our PU. We have made satisfactory progress over the year, with Scuderia Toro Rosso and our new partner, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing. Without a doubt, one of the highlights of this year came only a fortnight ago, when we had both our teams on the podium, with a win and a second place in Brazil.
Tanabe continues: “The Yas Marina Circuit features a 1.2 kilometre straight and several 90 degrees corners. The most unusual feature of this event is that, because the race starts in daylight and ends under the lights, the temperature, especially in FP1 and FP3, is very different to that experienced during the race and qualifying, so getting our settings right is always tricky here. The result in Brazil has given us even more motivation to tackle the challenges that lie ahead. We hope to end the season with the best result possible before preparing for a good start to 2020 with both our teams.”
