Honda could hold back its updated power unit until after the United States Grand Prix if it is not 100% happy with reliability.
Fernando Alonso tested a new specification of Honda power unit during Friday practice for the Russian Grand Prix before reverting to the previous version for qualifying and the race. With Alonso scheduled to run the updated engine in Austin before Jenson Button also gets one in Mexico, Honda motorsport boss Yasuhisa Arai told F1i the new specification will not race prematurely.
“It was the first time that we’ve ever used that, so it came from the dyno straight to the track,” Arai said, speaking via a translator. “From that we only confirmed the fundamental workings but as a team we have a positive impression that it has worked.
“We are hoping to use in Austin, but we will take the data gathered in Russia, bring it home, check it, do final confirmation and then put it in where we think it’s suitable.”
And Arai says the points scored at the end of a dramatic race in Russia highlight the importance of finishing races even if performance is lacking.
“We may have to delay it if it’s not 100%. Looking at Russia, we know that it’s now very important for us to finish and bring home the cars. So if we can’t do that, we’ll wait.”
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