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Honda Formula 1 engine chief Yusuke Hasegawa’s revelation that that the Japanese manufacturer might be joining Formula E certainly raised eyebrows when he made the statement during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, but the potential of Honda’s involvement is something that could revolutionize the sport.
"As a technical point of view it is interesting but from a racing point of view it is not attractive yet”said Hasegawa-san. “But it is more difficult to get engineers to do that."
Given the autonomous race series RoboRace will be joining the support calendar for Formula E next season, there would certainly be some interest from Honda given the varied directions for autonomous technology in both RoboRace and the main Formula E series.
Hasegawa's predecessor Yasuhisa Arai was heavily involved in the development of the Honda robot ASIMO, the marketing possibilities for Honda show enormous potential.
Speaking with Arai-san last year, I asked whether it would be possible for a driver to drive a car – or even race car without the use of his or her limbs – by simply using the power of their mind. His answer was starting.
“The synapsis that happens between your brain – the sensors – is very similar to the algorithm of a [current Formula One] power unit” he said.
“The people who are working on the actual algorithm of the power unit may be able to think toward the brain and have a similar kind of understanding”.
Trent Price, eRacing editor @realtrentprice