Hasegawa to leave F1 in Honda reshuffle

Honda have announced that Yusuke Hasegawa will be leaving his role as Formula 1 chief and taking up a new position on January 1.

Hasegawa has been head of Honda's F1 project since 2016, taking over from predecessor Yasuhisa Arai, but the Japanese manufacturer's relationship with McLaren continued to turn sour and resulted in a early divorce between the pair.

Now, as Honda start on a new chapter with Toro Rosso, they will do so by splitting Hasegawa's role into two and operate with a F1 technical director and operating officer

The new technical officer, Toyoharu Tanabe, will be 'directing the team at the spot of racing and testing', while the as-yet-unnamed operating officer will  'oversee research and development and the overall operation of races and testing'.

Hasegawa will become Honda's new executive chief engineer but it won't be a role within the Formula 1 project.

"In the past, the Head of F1 Project assumed responsibility in both technological development and directing the team at the spot of racing," said Katsuhide Moriyama, Honda's chief officer for brand and communication operations.

"By separating these areas of responsibility, we will evolve our structure so that both the development team and racing/testing team can assume their respective responsibilities more speedily.

"By ensuring both the development team and racing team soundly fulfil their respective roles, Honda will continue its challenges so that fans can enjoy seeing Toro Rosso-Honda competing at the top level without further delay."