Als Ferrari neidisch nach Tokyo schaute - der Honda V12

It's December in Portugal, and Gerhard Berger arrives at the Estoril racetrack. Even in December, the weather in Portugal is pleasant, which is why F1 teams always like to use the Estoril Circuit for testing between F1 seasons. This time it's McLaren, and Gerhard will be driving the McLaren MP4/6 for the first time, which is supposed to be just a development of the successful McLarens of recent years. But this time it's different. Last season, rivals Ferrari and Williams came too close, and something had to be done for the new 1991 season. But Berger is also initially surprised when he learns that Honda has secretly designed a completely new engine. Since the end of the turbo era, the Honda V10 has been the benchmark, and they've won both the Drivers' and Constructors' titles in the past two years, but now the Japanese are coming with something new... a V12... The Austrian is skeptical, even though, as a former Ferrari driver, a V12 is no stranger to him, but never before has a V12 engine won an F1 World Championship. While they're usually more powerful than V8s or V10s, they're also heavier and thirstier. And right from the first few laps, Gerhard's skepticism seems to be confirmed. The new engine doesn't feel fast. In fact, the V12 has 735 hp compared to the previous V10's 700 hp. Not enough power for the extra weight. When Gerhard's teammate Ayrton Senna takes over the cockpit during further testing, Senna confirms Berger's criticism. Senna says there's a reason why no one has ever won the title with a V12... Like & Subscribe for new videos about Formula 1    / @nabravoo   Disclaimer: All images and video clips used are marked for "Editorial Use" by the copyright owner. Also: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" (in German "Zitatrecht") for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. 0:00 December testing at Estoril 1990 2:51 Engines in F1 history 5:38 The first Honda V12 8:11 Engines after the turbo era 9:05 The Honda V10 9:41 The V12 surprise 12:24 The 1991 season 15:18 The 1992 season 16:19 The final years of the V12 17:20 But why V12???