Mar.10 (GMM) Honda Racing president Koji Watanabe has questioned why Adrian Newey publicly claimed that Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll risked permanent nerve damage from driving the Aston Martin, saying the Japanese manufacturer has no numerical data to support the assertion.
“It would be one thing if the driver himself said something intuitive that only he could understand, but I’m a little puzzled as to why Newey spoke on their behalf,” he told the Japanese media.
The remarks are the clearest sign yet of growing tension between Aston Martin and Honda, whose partnership is under intense scrutiny after a disastrous start to the season.
Watanabe confirmed that Honda Motor Co. president Toshihiro Mibe visited the Australian GP and met personally with team co-owner Lawrence Stroll, amid rumours the entire collaboration may be at stake.
“President Mibe is originally an engineer, so he shared various technical insights with us and gave us a warm message saying, ‘Let’s make this a competitive environment as soon as possible’,” he said.
Watanabe acknowledged that the current situation demands structural change in how the two organisations work together. “We can’t stay the same,” he said.
“We have to speed up development, and that doesn’t just mean increasing the power of the power unit. It’s about how we develop and accelerate it as one with the car. We want to work together as one team.”
He said strengthening the collaboration with Aston Martin’s Silverstone factory would be a priority, especially before Honda’s home race at Suzuka after Shanghai this weekend.
“I think it will also be important to further deepen our collaboration with Silverstone. To that end, as the person in charge of management, I will work to strengthen the organisation,” said Watanabe.
On the Melbourne weekend itself, Watanabe struck a cautiously optimistic note. “There were some areas where I felt there was potential for improvement going forward,” he said.
“Lance said the vibrations were ‘about half’ of what they were in Bahrain. I think that expression is probably based on a feeling, but in any case it was clear that the drivers are now in a position where they can drive a little better than before.”
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