Honda will introduce its first in-season power unit upgrade at this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix, with McLaren's Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button set to run an upgraded turbocharger.
The Japanese company had been considering a small upgrade for the race for some time, but had yet to commit to the plan until it had confirmation that the change would be beneficial.
It's believed the upgrade has shown positive results back at Honda's Sakura facility in Japan and following discussions with McLaren, the green-light has been given to introduce a new turbo in Montreal.
The upgrade has cost Honda two of its remaining tokens, leaving it with 12.
The change isn't expected to bring a huge power increase as it's believed to focus on harvesting efficieny. That would however provide Alonso and Button with additional energy to deploy over a lap, which will bring lap time improvement.
McLaren will also race with new fuel this week, provided by team partner ExxonMobil, which is expected to deliver a small boost in horsepower.
As it stands, Honda have 12 tokens remaining, Renault 14, Mercedes 11 and Ferrari six, although Ferrari are also expected to bring a small turbo update to Canada, costing them two tokens as well.
Discussion about this post