Yusuke Hasegawa admits the quality and the efficiency of the turbo will be the key factor at the Mexican Grand Prix this weekend.
McLaren Honda Formula 1 Team had a positive United States Grand Prix after both drivers saw the chequered flag in the top ten. Fernando Alonso finished in fifth with Jenson Button behind in ninth. Alonso performed really strong for McLaren and after some good overtaking moves he managed to stay in fifth, despite the worry over a penalty due to his harsh overtaking on Felipe Massa for fifth.
Last year, McLaren had a very difficult race after Alonso suffered from an MGU-H rotational sensor failure which meant he only completed one lap before he had to retire. Meanwhile Button finished in fourteenth after starting in twentieth. Hasegawa is hopeful of targeting points, by maintaining the good momentum gained in Austin.
“Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is located at the high altitude of 2,200m (7,218ft),” said Hasegawa. “Which means that the oxygen in the air is very lean, and therefore the turbocharger must work extra hard to force air into the power unit.
“As a result, the quality and the efficiency of the turbo will be the key factor in the Mexican Grand Prix. At the same time, this track has a very long straight, so we need to consider the power effect while matching the power unit to the chassis.
“We had a very difficult race here last year, but we would like to maintain the good momentum gained in Austin, and also show our technological progress throughout this season. We are hopeful that we can once again target points in the race.”
