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The president of Honda Racing Corporation seems to be a little frustrated with how their partnership with Aston Martin has started out.
Aston Martin find themselves in a tremendously disadvantageous position, as the Honda power unit still has a lot of issues with regards to stability.
Team principal Adrian Newey is hoping for a cost cap exception to ensure that the fixes being made don’t lead to Aston Martin being penalised.
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The drivers are clearly frustrated, with Fernando Alonso suggesting a full race in China was optimistic, given the issues they’re facing.
As things stand, Honda are expecting the issues to be resolved soon, but not before the Chinese Grand Prix. But the situation has also led to frustration from the Japanese organization over their relationship with Aston Martin.
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Honda president calls for greater collaboration with Aston Martin amid power unit crisis
Honda Racing Corporation president Koji Watanabe spoke to Autosport Japan ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix about their relationship with Adrian Newey and Aston Martin.
While the issue of personnel has been resolved, Watanabe wants to see an improvement in the relationship between Honda and Aston Martin, admitting that their current dynamic isn’t good enough.
“I think it is important to further deepen our collaboration with Silverstone. To that end, as the person in charge of management, I will work to strengthen the organisation.”
“We have basically strengthened our headcount sufficiently. Now we need to think about which areas we need to strengthen, what authority we need to have, and how we can work together with Aston Martin…”
“In light of this race, I would like to consult with Takeishi (Ikuo/Managing Director and Head of the Four-Wheel Racing Department at Honda Racing).”
“That’s right. It can’t stay the same. We need to speed up (development) more, and that doesn’t just mean increasing the power of the PU.”
“I think that together with the vehicle body, we can develop it and accelerate it. I want to be one team and do my best.”
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Honda expecting to resolve power unit issue in time for Japanese Grand Prix
In the same interview, Watanabe revealed he and Honda are hoping to have the power unit issues resolved come time for their home race at the Japanese Grand Prix.
“I haven’t decided where I’m going at the moment, but first I want to take it to Suzuka, where I’ll be taking good measures against vibrations and using the power unit (PU) without any problems. Of course, Sakura (HRC Sakura) will do a solid job in this regard.”
The decision to partner with Honda might well pay off in the future for Aston Martin, but it has certainly not gotten off to the right start.
With seemingly yet another race deemed unfeasible for Aston Martin, the damage the team are taking to start the season is nothing short of catastrophic.
And even with the comments from Watanabe, there is no guarantee that Honda will be able to complete the fixes in the timeline given, which would only create further issues for Aston Martin.
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