No firm plans for Honda to supply Sauber

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Honda says it has ’no concrete plan’ to supply a second team yet in 2018, despite Sauber looking out for a potential new power unit partner.

Sauber has used Ferrari engines since 2010, but will use the 2016-specification power unit next season, in what is also the last year of its current contract. It is understood Sauber is evaluating other power unit suppliers moving forwards if it were to leave Ferrari, with Honda a possibility as the Japanese manufacturer has been expanding its Milton Keynes facility in order to have the capacity to supply a second team.

Despite the work undertaken at its UK base, Honda’s head of F1 project Yusuke Hasegawa says there has yet to be serious discussions with a second team beyond McLaren.

“We are preparing to provide multiple teams from 2018, however there is no concrete plan at the moment,” Hasegawa told F1i when asked if talks with Sauber have taken place for 2018. “Should we be approached by any team, we will look into matters seriously and decide.”

Honda has often stated its willingness to add a customer team alongside its McLaren deal, with new regulations having been introduced which theoretically could see a power unit supplier forced to take on an extra team which doesn’t have a deal for the following season.

Nearing the end of its second season since returning to F1, Hasegawa recently described himself as only “50% satisfied” with Honda’s progress in 2016, with regular top ten results punctuated by poor weekends such as at Suzuka.

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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.