Honda (HRC) Technical Director: 'Can't put it into words'

Toyoharu Tanabe was the face of engine supplier Honda in Formula 1 for many years, but from this year Masamitsu Motohashi is the technical director of Honda Racing Corporation (HRC). In an interview with AS-Web he is hugely happy to have won both the drivers' and constructors' championships this year.

"Thanks to Red Bull, the four drivers and everyone at HRC, we were finally able to win. I can't put it into words. I really want to thank everyone," Motohashi said. The Japanese took over from Tanabe this year with which he became the man to lead the new project. Quite a challenge. It was quite exciting for Motohashi, but it makes him all the more proud that HRC has teamed up with Red Bull Powertrains to build a championship-winning engine.

Motohashi succeeds Tanabe

When Motohashi was asked how the season has been for him so far, he replied,"It has been tough (laughs). I thought I had learned a lot by watching Mr Tanabe, but it's hard when you suddenly find yourself in his shoes." As a result, the Japanese player sometimes got some tips and tricks here and there from his predecessor. "Occasionally there was some advice, but he always taught me more by just doing it, so it was just a simple 'good luck'."

As technical director, Motohashi is the person ultimately responsible and that brings pressure. "When it comes to making the final decision, of course I always feel responsible. But everyone is behind me and I have always believed in it. This year, we had to work with a new organisation, Red Bull Powertrains (RBPT), but we did not want to compromise on quality in the battle for the World Championship title. That was the hardest part." HRC has existed since this season, so Motohashi says it took some searching at the beginning to figure out how to structure certain things. In the end, they succeeded extremely well in this with partner Red Bull Powertrains.