F1 News
Doornbos: "It is remarkable that Honda has problems after the ban on party mode"
- GPblog.com
For Honda, after the Grand Prix of Tuscany, there is enough to analyse. At Max Verstappen there have been problems with the engine for the second weekend in a row. In Monza and Mugello the Dutchman dropped out and in both cases the bike didn't do what was asked for. According to Robert Doornbos this means the end of Red Bull Racing's title hope.
"If your engine isn't even reliable, you really can't start thinking about competing in a world championship," explains Doornbos in his column on Ziggo Sport. He finds it remarkable that the problems of Verstappen only came to the grid in the round and not earlier in the weekend.
Honda a step back because of banning?
"The only thing I can imagine is that it was only in qualifying that they really drove with the fastest mode". Doornbos thinks it may have something to do with the ban on party mode, something that Red Bull has worked a lot on to make it go in. "It is striking that since the introduction of that ban, Red Bull has failed twice with a motor problem".
"Maybe Honda had to take a step backwards because of that". Doornbos expects that there will still be clarity about the problem, but that it is not good for the image of Honda. "I am sure there will still be some word from Honda about the problem, but it is clear that it is extremely painful.