McLaren drivers Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button will get a power boost in Canada – a circuit where horsepower rules – after Honda confirmed it will introduce an upgraded engine for the seventh round of the championship.
The Japanese manufacturer, along with Ferrari, has elected to use some of its allocated engine development tokens in a bid to catch up to its rivals.
It was previously thought that Honda would hold off until the Austrian Grand Prix before introducing an upgrade, choosing to instead focus on reliability this weekend following troubles for Alonso in both Spain and Monaco.
But with Honda engine chief Yasuhisa Arai wary of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and its thirst for power, the supplier has brought forward the development.
“Canada is a power circuit, so we need more power,” he said recently. “I know that we need more power, but it is not so easy to get that. So it is how to deliver the MGU-K power for that kind of high-speed circuit.”
It’s not yet clear exactly what Honda have spent two of their tokens on, but it’s likely to be confirmed over the weekend following the FIA’s post-race inspection.
Ferrari meanwhile has used three of its tokens but has yet to confirm if they will deploy their upgraded engine this weekend or later in the season.
