After a complicated weekend in Australia, Honda denies any divorce with Aston Martin, while Fernando Alonso questions the engine’s true progress.
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Speculation surrounding a possible split between Honda and Aston Martin enlivened the Australian Grand Prix weekend. Asked about this, Ikuo Takeishi, senior managing director of Honda Racing, firmly denied it: “At my level, I have heard nothing or discussed this directly.”
The Japanese executive insists on the team’s priorities: ensuring reliability and improving performance.
“That is what I want to focus on,” he insisted.
Alonso remains skeptical
While Honda presents a reassuring discourse, Fernando Alonso adopts a much more critical tone. The double world champion contradicts Koji Watanabe’s positive assessment of engine vibrations: “The vibrations are the same as in Bahrain – it’s not the best feeling.”
For Alonso, the technical improvements put in place do not yet have a tangible impact on the chassis. He also predicts a difficult weekend in China and expects more visible improvements in Japan, notably with new batteries and spare parts.
“We will be able to push the car knowing that we can fix it. But in China, we will still have to be extremely cautious.”
Caution resulted in a strategic withdrawal for Alonso as early as the 15th lap in Melbourne to preserve the last batteries, while Lance Stroll finished the race. Mike Krack, head of track operations at Aston Martin, clarified: “There was no problem related to the power unit. I am almost certain that we could have finished the race with Fernando.”
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Honda defends its choices and its reconstruction
Takeishi also responded to Adrian Newey’s criticism regarding the departure of part of the experienced team after 2021. He confirms that departures took place but assures that Honda has rebuilt a competent structure.
“If we only consider experience, we may have fewer members than during the fourth generation of engines. But we have recruited talented and highly qualified people.”
Chief engineer Shintaro Orihara, for his part, is confident about the future. He believes that the power unit’s reliability has improved since Bahrain and expects further improvements for the Chinese Grand Prix.
“We now have the necessary confidence to increase our battery range. Next week should be more conventional. We will focus on increasing range and collecting data to improve our performance.”
A season under observation
Despite the tensions and criticism, Honda assures it is moving in the right direction. The battle for reliability and performance remains open, and every race becomes essential for testing improvements and preparing the team to face the following circuits.
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