Honda have dismissed Zak Brown’s claims that they are ‘lost’ as they attempt to address their problematic power units and bring the McLaren F1 Team to a more competitive level in Formula 1, but they understand why the comments were made in the first place.
Yusuke Hasegawa, Executive Chief Engineer of Honda, says they are working hard to improve both the reliability and competitiveness of their power unit, and to convince McLaren and Brown they will have to show them by bringing their updates to the track.
McLaren are the only team yet to score points in 2017 and sit at the bottom of the Constructors’ Championship standings, and both cars have suffered grid penalties as a result of engine changes in the first six races.
“It is unfortunate I can’t convince them we are going in the right direction,” said Hasegawa to Motorsport.com. “But I am confident we are not lost.
“We still need some more time but we are doing the right thing. We are doing many things to speed up our development but I don’t disclose what. Maybe they are thinking Honda can make it in the future but we need to convince them by showing them.
“I was not surprised [by his comments]. It’s no wonder he has complained and he is frustrated. I’m frustrated, I’m disappointed, the team is disappointed. This is a very difficult, a tough situation.”
