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Honda want to reward their fans with a good performance at their home round in Japan this weekend, after a positive performance last weekend in Malaysia.
The Japanese engine manufacturer has struggled to match rivals Merecedes, Renault, and Ferrari since returning for Formula One as a partner to McLaren last year, but the company's F1 chief is hopeful that the outfit's recent progress will continue at Suzuka this weekend.
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"It is a very special place and an important race weekend, of course for Honda but also for me personally – I have great memories of racing there with Formula One in years gone by," Hasegawa is quoted by F1i.
"I am thankful for all the very knowledgeable and enthusiastic F1 fans, who expect a lot from us, but are very understanding at the same time," he added. "I hope that our team's progress encourages more spectators to join us at Suzuka and help increase McLaren-Honda's fan base."
Hasegawa is hopeful that McLaren Honda can be the 'best of the rest' this weekend, behind race winners Mercedes and Red Bull, and Ferrari.
"Suzuka is a track highly rated by the drivers for its technical and complex nature. In order to succeed there, there must be a good balance between the power unit and chassis," he said. "We will do our utmost to set up the car to hopefully score more points and be within reach of the top three teams. I hope that we can have a race that we can be proud of, and that our fans can be proud of, too."
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C. Sainz jr
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Correct me if Im mistaken, but Force India has a pretty stable track record at Suzuka right? I think they will be the best of the rest, but I can definitely see McLaren behind them, Suzuka's many corners should benefit them.