They never had a normal deployement during 2015, and it wasn't by a single factor but because a myriad of issues, starting with the sensors, that forced them to run the first third of the season blind, not even knowing what was happening.ALO_Power wrote:Sorry but I can't understand this. Their biggest problem for 2015 was the ERS harvesting/deployment. The McLaren chassis is claimed to be a good one plus the ICE. If they resolved their ERS related issues and with the updated ICE / turbos and stuff + updates on chassis then what are they waiting for? With all of these sorted they should get really competitive and aiming for podiums and stuff. What more is Button expecting?majki2111 wrote:McLaren's Button happy with Honda's F1 progress but wants more
"The standout is the deployment has been very good, very consistent throughout the day, no issues, and quite a big chunk better on the long runs compared to last year."Obviously it shows other weaknesses with the car we still need to improve, but it was a good day, and I'm reasonably happy. On outright pace? Who knows. If you look at the times you would say we are miles away, but we're not going out there to set a lap time, we're going out there to do different checks. We're obviously not going to be the quickest car at this test, and probably won't be for most of the year, but as long as we can see improvements, the feeling of the car is good and something to build on."
[On] deployment we've made a good step forward, but with the power unit we've a lot of work still," he added."They [Honda] have done a good job on working on the reliability and pushing the deployment very hard over the winter."But I don't think any of us will be happy going to Melbourne with the power unit. There is definitely more to come from the first race. We need that."Button, though, can at least sense Honda has made strides, not least behind the scenes after his dealings with the Japanese manufacturer's staff."I said when we had our first meeting yesterday, they have so much more confidence when they are talking in English," said Button."But they are also confident but they really believe in what they have done and achieved over the winter."It's great to see that confidence because initially it was a very different situation.
EDIT: Now I noticed that he mentioned: "for most of the year" . So he intends that somewhen throughout the year McLaren could be the fastest car on the grid?
I have the feeling also that deployement is way more complex than initially considered, hence my theory regarding the software part of the equation. I've just read something about Button saying the deployement was now "listening", implying it is not a binary on/off thing, but a proper "eco-system" depending on combustion and of how the whole PU adapts to the driver demands.
You can't simply run lean on fuel mixture all the time, this would make the car unresponsive or undriveable. There's a lot to fine tune.
BTW, the throaty Honda growl has not disapeared and it seems to be related to off throtle situations where the PU should be harvesting. Anybody with an idea?