JANUARY 29, 2002

How good is the new Honda engine?

EVERYONE has been very polite to date but word is drifting in from testing in Spain that the all-new Honda V10 engine is rather a disappointment. There have been similar rumors about the new Mercedes-Benz V10. Both companies decided to embark on completely new projects for the 2002 season and in some respects it is to be expected that the initial tests will not produce earth-shattering results. However the mood in the various camps seems somewhat sombre with the new season now only a month away.

The problem appears to be that by building smaller and lighter engines the designers have been unable to match the horsepower figures of the bigger, heavier engines.

Testing times are currently revealing little as no-one is quite sure in what specifications teams are running their cars. It should be remembered that at the start of last year it was Prost Grand Prix which was setting the pace in Barcelona with the AP04. The car never delivered any decent results once the racing got serious.