Honda chief admits 'wasted two years' left Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin with an inferior engine
Photo: Race Pictures
Ben Hunt is an award-winning motorsport journalist with over two decades of experience in Formula 1 and international media. As a former editor-in-chief and bestselling author, he delivers in-depth analysis and strategic insight from the highest level of the sport.
Honda Racing Corporation president Koji Watanabe has admitted that Honda 'wasted two years' developing its Formula 1 power unit for Aston Martin. He also called this year's engine 'clearly inferior' to its rivals, basing that view on the FIA's ADUO performance figures.
Watanabe made the condemning remarks in an interview with the Japanese edition of Motorsport.com. He will retire at the end of the year and hand over to Keiichi Yasuda, which is why the admission carries extra weight. Manufacturers rarely say on the record that their engine is behind.
It is a difficult message for Fernando Alonso to take as the Spaniard scored just seven points in the first 17 Grands Prix of the season, while Aston Martin struggled with reliability problems, a lack of power and uneven energy delivery.
Watanabe: FIA figures show Honda is behind
Watanabe was asked directly whether the power unit Honda supplies to Aston Martin is weaker than the competition. He did not dodge the question, though he added a caveat about how reliable the comparison is.
ADVERTISEMENT
Based on the performance levels measured by the FIA for ADUO, I think our PU (power unit) is clearly inferior to those of other manufacturers. Of course, we can't accurately know the numbers for our rivals' PUs, so this is assuming we trust the FIA's figures.- Koji Watanabe to Motorsport.com Japan
As for the cause, the HRC president kept his answer simple: "I think the main reason was that we started development late."
How Honda lost two years
Watanabe traced the problem back to Honda's decision to return to F1 as a works engine manufacturer. Rival manufacturers had a head start, and Honda then needed more time to rebuild its development operation.
Our decision to re-enter the competition was delayed by a year compared to others, and it took time to get our development system in place, so we essentially wasted two years.- Koji Watanabe
ADVERTISEMENT
He explained that Honda used that time to develop the battery and the electric motor and Watanabe accepts that the delay can no longer be made up, because dyno hours are now limited.
Read also
Newey warned about Honda's resources in March
The admission puts an earlier dispute in a new light. At the season opener in Melbourne, Adrian Newey said Aston Martin only realised "last November" how few resources Honda had, The Independent reported. He claimed Honda had come back with roughly 30 per cent of its original team, in a budget cap era, and added: "I feel powerless."
Three weeks later, Watanabe pushed back and called Newey's comments "a misunderstanding". He said at the time that Honda regularly moves its motorsport engineers into mass production and other advanced technology projects.
ADVERTISEMENT
Seven months on, the Honda chief's own explanation is close to Newey's: the Japanese manufacturer started too late and has not been able to catch up. The task of fixing that will fall to Yasuda.
Don’t miss GPblog in Google
Mark us as a preferred source and our articles will appear more often at the top of Top Stories.
Add as a preferred / source on Google