Toyoharu Tanabe: “Be the best”

The place is not an entrenched camp. Discreet, similar to the other buildings scattered throughout this vast area of Milton Keynes aired by green spaces and populated by roundabouts, it is just identifiable by the five letters forming the name Honda which stands out on the facade.

Here, Honda Racing is located, which houses the racing team, but not only that. In these walls, in-house powertrains mainly developed in Sakura, Japan are assembled. On the other hand, this is where the batteries are built.

In recent years, these walls have often wavered under the influence of increasingly harsh criticism from his then partner, McLaren, but remained standing.

If the building does not bear the scars of these dark hours, this is not the case for the men it houses, who knew how to grit their teeth and work. Now that their resilience has been rewarded, a new lease of life is sweeping the workshops.

“And also the spirits, Tanabe-san explains with a tight smile as he welcomes us into the entrance hall. We went through very difficult times, the development work we did was long and tedious. Spielberg is just one victory, but it means a lot in these walls and in Sakura. The overwhelming feeling is relief. »

The man speaks slowly, does not smile, but exudes sympathy, more than the very haughty Yasuhisa Arai and the very self-effacing Yusuke Hasegawa who preceded him in this position. Figures from a time that he did not know or that he pretends not to know, he does not want to dwell on the reasons for a failure with McLaren, still experienced as a trauma.

“It is impossible for me to comment on these years because I was not involved, he emphasizes as if to cut short any further questions regarding Woking. I only know that it was a difficult experience. I don't know how much of a challenge the F1 was difficult in the 60s, but if we rely on the very successful 80s and the return in the 2000s, it is indeed the most difficult period that Honda Racing has known.

This turbo/hybrid era is very complicated and, for us, it was even more difficult because we arrived later. The other engine manufacturers were much further along, and it took us a while to catch up. We lacked the experience to develop our set and it took us time to reach a sufficient level of reliability allowing us to accelerate the development. It’s very hard because to develop, you have to be reliable and run, and to be reliable, you have to develop. »

Asked if, ultimately, Honda simply did not arrive too early, if the firm should have allowed itself an additional year of preparation, the technical director still agrees to give his point of view. “I don’t believe that one more year would have changed things diametrically, he advances.

Simply, we should have started running when we were ready to do so. Everything would have been much simpler and quicker if we had entered F1 when everything was ready. In 2015, this was not the case and it only made things terribly complicated. Running when you're not completely ready is the worst thing, because you have to do everything together: gain experience, be reliable, develop! »

Healthy experiences

It was during the winter of 2017-2018 that Toyoharu Tanabe took office, when it was important to give new impetus to the F1 project when turning the McLaren page and opening that of Toro Rosso. Arriving at Honda in 1984, this old curmudgeon from the institution who knew F1 in the 1980s and 2000s, and who dragged his gaiters for a long time in IndyCar had the ideal profile. What was needed was a man from the inner circle, experienced in the jousts of racing and who had forgotten nothing of his first experiences.

“It was in 1985, he said, giving a half-smile. I see myself walking in an F1 paddock for the very first time. It was at Silverstone. Honda was then a partner of Williams. I was tasked with bringing parts for testing. After Williams, I worked a little at Lotus and, above all, McLaren where I was Gerhard Berger's engineer. I made my return to Grands Prix in the 2000s, still as a race engineer for Jenson Button. How to interact with the drivers, how to prepare yourself, how to deal with the problems you may encounter during the weekend… I learned these things during my previous experiences in F1 in different teams. »

Healthy experiences when it was necessary to move from the imposing MTC (McLaren Technology Centre) to the modest team based in Faenza. A shock ? " No, he says with confidence. Once again, I wasn’t present at McLaren and I don’t know how things were managed. On the other hand, I can imagine that a smaller structure like Toro Rosso, with fewer interlocutors, made communication easier. Everyone takes responsibility and makes their own decisions.

There’s no point going to another person to get the green light. As a result, decision-making is brief. It’s simple, fast and efficient like the relationships we also have with Red Bull Racing, which is however much more important. We work very closely and openly. We get to the bottom of things in our discussions. We pay a lot of attention to details. Also, these are very honest discussions. We talk very candidly about what can be done. »

This was not always the case in Woking where the Honda management, then in place, sometimes preferred to respond in the affirmative to impossible requests from McLaren rather than saying no.

This fear of losing face no longer seems to exist in the relationship shared with Red Bull. It must be said that the Austrian firm has clearly marked out the terrain, not hesitating to send its staff on courses to discover the Japanese mentality. Even Helmut Marko had to comply, judging by the new dexterity with which he wields the wands of language. Not a single wrong word from this champion of sweeping statements.

The Austrian, who has added water to his sake, even goes so far as to predict four new victories before the end of the season. Realistic? " It is going to be difficult, whispers the Japanese, glancing at the photo wall behind him where he appears on Spielberg’s podium. When we started the season, the gap with Mercedes et Ferrari was too important to think about victory. It has reduced over the Grands Prix but, despite everything, it is still there. For the moment, in racing, our Power Unit is sometimes as good as that of our competitors, but not every time. This is what we are working on. »

For the Japanese engine manufacturer, the priority goes to a significant improvement of the most powerful engine mode that pilots can use in qualifying, the famous “party mode”.

Steps to climb

Against all expectations, the Red Bull-Honda combination has proven its ability to achieve results on “motor” tracks like Spielberg and Silverstone, but it is better exploitation on a fast lap that is sought. “We try to use our engine to its maximum potential, explains the technical director. It’s not easy to do it at a higher level immediately. But we continue to develop, perhaps it will be for the next specification or evolution. »

The latest was presented at the French Grand Prix at the end of last June. With its “Spec 3”, Honda introduced a new combustion engine and a new turbo which provided a small gain in power while offering better reliability. “Currently, the performance gap with the competition is clearly qualification, insists our interlocutor. We see a bigger gap than in the race where we are still behind, but not far. This means that the next catch-up stage concerns this mode. »

If Honda can afford to consider new developments this year, it is also because its strategy is structured around a plan which exceeds the limit of three engines per season imposed by the regulations. Taking penalties at some point during the season is fully accepted. “Our development is based on the balance between performance and reliability. Our wish is to go further in terms of improvement with each new development, but they will only be introduced once good reliability is assured! »

Tanabe-san says he is satisfied with the progress made by this first victory, and he also knows that he is still far from having fulfilled his mission. “The current results are important for the whole project, for the managers and for me too, he agrees. But this is only one step. We still have a lot of steps to climb. We will continue to move forward step by step, at our own pace, with the same determination. The difference is that we will move forward lighter, as if freed from a weight. »

A weight and a sword of Damocles too, because there are not only fans of the F1 project on the Board of Directors of Honda in Japan. “He always put pressure on us, Tanabe-san concedes. But good pressure, because we have always had the support of Council members. Especially in the most difficult times. This first victory, let’s say that it is very important for the program and for all those who collaborate with it. We will all remember this joy and this excitement felt at Spielberg to work even more. It’s an extraordinary boost for the entire program. This victory frees us. Now we know we can win, but the goal remains to be the best. »

Hope for a better F1

This victory, then that of Hockenheim, had a tremendous echo in Japan and also a salutary breath of fresh air for F1 as a whole which, in the “Land of the Rising Sun”, continues to go down. “The major media are talking about F1 again, notes the manager with satisfaction. Internally too, she has done a lot of good. Now, in the canteen, the employees are talking about F1 again. That’s good, but it shouldn’t hide the fact that F1 needs to evolve. Japanese fans are like everyone else, they want to see overtaking like at Spielberg and Silverstone, exciting races. The current aerodynamics, as well as the tires, make this type of racing difficult, and this is why we support the big work undertaken by the FIA ​​to improve things for 2021. We agree in principle of what she wants to put in place, on the goal to be achieved, but many details still need to be discussed. »

No blank check from the Japanese firm which stands together with its partner Red Bull, and which remains attentive to what the F1 of tomorrow will be. An F1 where it has definitely found its place? " I hope so, smiles – frankly for the first time – our host. The question is difficult, because there is always a gap with Mercedes and Ferrari. When it is filled, maybe we can say that we have definitely returned to F1. 0”1 isn’t much, but it’s everything at the same time. »

End of interview. Tanabe-san agrees to take a few more photos in front of the building, returns with a lot of humor to his “great moment of solitude” on the Spielberg podium – where, surprised by the protocol, he did not know what to do – and took his leave. He goes to his office where we will not have been invited, a matter of modesty and etiquette. Tanabe-san prefers to entertain in a setting whose only decoration is an engine. As if to clearly indicate that he is only the servant of a cause. A cause being won.

Photos: © DPPI