Honda will leave a decision on whether it introduces upgrades to its power unit at the Malaysian Grand Prix until the last minute.
Head of F1 project Yusuke Hasegawa has previously suggested Malaysian was being targeted for an upgrade in order to avoid any power unit penalties at Honda's home race in Japan a week later. Previewing this weekend's race, Hasegawa says a decision will be made once at the track, with the upgrade ready to be used if required.
“The Malaysian Grand Prix will no doubt be another hot and humid battle to be fought amongst the drivers," Hasegawa said. "The changeable conditions mean it will be tricky to find a good balance with the car, and the rain can of course give us an added challenge.
"The circuit in Sepang is an undulating mix of long straights and sweeping corners, which all make for an exciting race with lots of good overtaking battles.
"We are not 100 per cent certain if we will install any power unit updates for this race, but we’ll look to make our final decision at the track based on the balance of performance and reliability."
Hasegawa has previously suggested an internal combustion engine (ICE) upgrade had not yet reached the desired performance level on the dyno.
Honda currently has just three power unit development tokens remaining, and has been focusing on the ICE during its more recent upgrades. The last update was introduced at the Belgian Grand Prix, where Fernando Alonso finished an impressive seventh having started the race from the back row of the grid.
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