Honda share update on critical F1 problem ahead of 'tough' home race

Honda believes it has made some progress on fixing the vibrations its F1 power unit is causing, but warned it and Aston Martin could be braced for a "tough" home Japanese GP. 

Ahead of the season-opener in Australia, team principal Adrian Newey revealed that vibrations from the Honda engine could trigger potential nerve damage in the fingers of drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. 

Last time out in China, Alonso retired from the race due to the excessive vibrations, and was seen at times to take his hands off the steering wheel to wriggle his fingers, such was the frequency of the vibrations. 

The Honda unit is also down on power, which is going to be a problem at the power-hungry Suzuka as Honda marks its home grand prix upon its full-time F1 return. 

Looking ahead, Honda feels it has made progress in reducing the vibrations, but also that it still does not fully understand the cause of them. 

"In China, we made some progress in terms of battery reliability thanks to a reduction in the vibration affecting the systems, but we must find more solutions to establish the cause of the vibrations affecting the drivers," explained Honda's trackside general manager and chief engineer, Shintaro Orihara.

"We have also focused our efforts in the gap between China and Japan to continue to improve our reliability, but still our performance is not where we want it to be, especially regarding energy management. 

"Suzuka Circuit is a tough track for this, so we have been using the learnings from Australia and China to prepare better for the Japanese Grand Prix.

“We are not at the level where we wanted to be going into this weekend, but we will keep working hard to maximise our package. We are looking forward to seeing the home crowd and the Honda fans. I want them to see that we have made some progress since Bahrain.

"Before I joined the Honda Formula 1 project, I was a big fan of Honda and motorsport. I have been attending Suzuka for decades; I was always excited to watch the sessions and cheer for Honda, so I know how passionate the fans are.

"Now I am proud to work in front of them, and we will keep pushing hard to show them what we can do. We know we can count on their support even if we would like to show better results on track."