Aston Martin handed worrying 'out of solutions' message by Honda during Baku misery

Honda has conceded it was "out of solutions" as it endured a challenging weekend at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The Japanese manufacturer anticipated that it would be a difficult event, with the high-speed track proving to be a major obstacle for its power units.

Both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll retired from Saturday's race, marking its fourth double-DNF of the campaign.

With the long straights bringing the package's weaknesses to light, Honda admitted there was little it could do to soften the blow.

"It was a tough lesson learnt in Baku this weekend," said Honda's chief engineer Shintaro Orihara.

"We knew the long straight configuration would be a challenge for our current package.

"We have tried to minimise the time lost, but we were simply out of solutions with the tools we have available for now.

"This was a character-building weekend for everyone. I would like to thank the whole team for pushing no matter how hard the road is ahead of us."

Honda explain Alonso engine concerns

Ahead of the race weekend, Alonso and Stroll were fitted with new power unit components, ensuring they would start the race from the back of the grid.

However, after noticing a potential issue with Alonso's engine on Thursday, Honda made some more changes, though it is confident that there are no overhanging issues with the fresh engine.

"We introduced a new engine, then in FP2 we found some irregular signals on our system.

"Because it was a new engine, we decided to protect the new engine, and we did an inspection after the session, and we found the cause.

"We replaced the part and in FP3 and qualifying, we haven't seen any issue on the engine.

"So I believe the new engine is healthy. We will carry that engine for the rest of the season."