News On Japan

Red Bull starts discussions with Honda about becoming its F1 engine supplier

May 02, 2018 (Japan Times) - Formula One team Red Bull has begun talks with Honda to become its engine supplier for next season.

Red Bull has a deal with Renault and must inform governing body FIA by mid-May whether it intends to switch to the Japanese manufacturer. Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko formally spoke with Honda motorsport head Masahi Yamamoto last weekend at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix regarding a possible deal.

“Yes, it was positive. We do believe we were both satisfied,” Yamamoto told Formula One’s website. “It’s the first time we have an official meeting. It’s the starting point for a potential future.”

Honda’s stock has risen considerably following three miserable seasons as engine supplier for McLaren , which is now supplied by Renault.

Honda is currently supplying engines to Toro Rosso, which is Red Bull’s feeder team. French driver Pierre Gasly’s fourth-place finish for Toro Rosso at the Bahrain Grand Prix last month was higher than McLaren managed with the same engine during three years — and with two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso driving.

Red Bull is in an advantageous position of being able to compare and assess the two engines from within the same company’s framework.

The difference in speed between Red Bull and Toro Rosso has not been as wide as expected. This suggests Honda’s reliability has either improved dramatically, or that its engine is better suited to Toro Rosso than it was to McLaren. Red Bull may therefore decide its chassis better compliments Honda’s engine than McLaren’s did.

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The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) announced that an El Niño phenomenon is believed to have developed this spring, warning that Japan is likely to experience above-average temperatures nationwide this summer despite the climate pattern's traditional association with cooler summers.

Narita International Airport Corporation is expected to announce next month that it will apply to the national government for project certification as part of the process to enable compulsory land acquisition for the construction of a new runway at Narita Airport, according to sources familiar with the matter.

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Japan's national soccer team arrived in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 8th from Monterrey, Mexico, where it had been conducting a pre-World Cup training camp, and held its first practice session at its base camp for the FIFA World Cup in North America.

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