Honda yet to finalise 2017 layout

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Honda has yet to finalise its plans for its 2017 power unit as it investigates different concepts for next season.

The Japanese manufacturer returned to F1 as engine supplier to McLaren at the start of the 2015 season, but was on the back foot having missed the first year of the V6 turbo power units. After an uncompetitive first year back, Honda has improved markedly in 2016 and reached Q3 with Jenson Button at Spa-Francorchamps after introducing a major upgrade.

While development continues on the current engine, manufacturers also have much more freedom in 2017 as the power unit development token system will be scrapped. Honda's head of F1 project Yusuke Hasegawa told F1i his company is keen to explore all potential avenues before committing to a specific direction.

Asked if the concept for 2017 has been finalised, Hasegawa replied: "Not yet.

"We have several options, but we are still seeking the optimal layout. Our target is to be more powerful and reliable, but we want to keep the power unit as small and as light as possible to help support the chassis side as well."

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier says the two partners are working closely after 18 months racing together again, with constant dialogue about both power unit and car development plans.

"The good thing is we also have this data for next year," Boullier said of the improvements made by the team. "But everything we believe is good for the chassis and vice versa it’s not only McLaren with Honda it’s also Honda with McLaren asking if it’s better for the engine to do it this way and can we accommodate it in the chassis? We are talking like one team.”

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.