The cause: the difficulties
encountered by the Honda power unit, which currently place
the Silverstone-based team in a very delicate
sporting situation.
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Team principal
Adrian Newey recently publicly mentioned certain
technical problems with the engine, exposing the weaknesses of the
Japanese program, which surprised several paddock
analysts.
Ralf
Schumacher warns
Former F1 driver
Ralf Schumacher believes that this public communication
could have crossed a line, particularly given the
cultural differences between European teams and
Japanese manufacturers.
Speaking on the
Backstage Boxengasse podcast on
Sky Sports Germany, he stated: “There is
a cultural difference between Europe and Japan based on my
experience. I think a certain harshness has appeared in the
communication between Honda and
Aston Martin. And then, there were some kind of accusations
coming from Japan.”
According to him, exposing
problems in public is not the usual way to manage this
type of technical relationship in Formula 1: “Then there is
Adrian Newey, who builds the cars and basically says that
we need to find out where the vibrations are coming from. And obviously,
this is not something you do in a relationship.
“
For Schumacher, the situation
should have been handled internally to preserve unity between the
two partners: “Yes, you can either work together,
discuss it beforehand and say: ‘Okay, we are going to work
on this together now. Maybe we can improve
certain things with the suspension.’ “
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Honda recognizes the gravity of the situation
Tensions are already
visible behind the scenes. The president of Honda Racing Corporation,
Koji Watanabe (pictured above), himself recently admitted
that the partnership with Aston Martin “cannot remain
as it is” if the problems persist. This statement highlights
the pressure now weighing on the alliance between the two
organizations.
Former F1 engineer
Gary Anderson, now an analyst for
The Race, was also surprised by the way
Newey approached the situation publicly.
According to Anderson, the problem
stems from the fact that Newey simultaneously holds several roles
within the team, which blurs the lines between technical
communication and political communication: “I was surprised not
only by the gravity of the situation, but also by the way
Adrian Newey handles these problems in public.”
The dual role of
Newey
He believes that the “technical
director” version of Newey should focus on
engineering, while the “team principal” version should
manage the diplomatic dimension: “With this dual role, Newey
must be very careful and clear about the role he assumes when
participating in these media sessions. The questions and answers
should be very different.”
For Anderson, even if
Newey’s comments were technically justified, the essential
question remains whether this approach will actually
get the best out of Honda.
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