F1 News
Honda: "We must say sorry to Max" after Q2 engine failure
- Nicolás Quarles van Ufford
Honda technical director Toyoharu Tanabe was thrilled to have both Red Bull Racing cars within the top four, although the Japanese was quick to apologise to Max Verstappen as the power unit acted up during Q2.
Verstappen had to come into the garage for an extended time during Q2 as the problem was being looked into before the Dutchman could get back out. As there was little time left in Q2 and Verstappen had yet to set a lap, he ran on the soft tyre rather than the medium to avoid risk.
Verstappen went on to put his Honda-powered RB15 on P2 on the grid, followed by Pierre Gasly in P4. A good yield for Red Bull, and indeed for Honda.
"It’s great to have Max on the front row and Pierre right behind him on the grid in a career-best fourth place," Tanabe said after qualifying.
However, we must say sorry to Max, as there was a problem with the PU settings when we tried a different mode in Q2, which did not work.
As for Toro Rosso, Alex [Albon] was unlucky to encounter traffic, so we will have to see if they can move up the order tomorrow."