Mar.7 (GMM) The possibility of Aston Martin terminating its Honda works deal mid-season cannot be ruled out, according to former F1 driver Timo Glock, as the partnership’s crisis deepened further on Saturday in Melbourne.
The Sky Deutschland pundit was scathing. “This is a complete catastrophe, an absolute low blow for Honda. Aston Martin and Honda have invested a lot in their partnership, and now they can only race to a limited extent in Australia. What a disastrous start to the season.”
He went further: “Aston Martin will certainly review the agreements because Honda may not have adhered to certain commitments. I can definitely imagine that a switch to another engine manufacturer will be considered.
“The current situation also means financial damage for this team and is a market disaster.”
Sky Italia correspondents Matteo Bobbi and Marc Gene reported that the Melbourne paddock is already discussing a mid-season engine supplier change, citing dissatisfaction from both team owner Lawrence Stroll and Adrian Newey with Honda’s performance.
The crisis has also raised uncomfortable questions about due diligence. Newey admitted on Friday that Aston Martin only discovered in November that much of Honda’s experienced workforce had not returned when the manufacturer reformed.
Glock found that hard to accept. “Why did Aston Martin only realise in November that many experienced engineers were no longer working in Honda’s F1 program? Why didn’t Aston Martin recognise it?
“Honestly – I can’t understand it.”
Even F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali admitted he was caught off guard. “I don’t want to lie,” Domenicali said with a smile. “I was surprised by that situation.”
Honda Racing president Koji Watanabe, speaking to Japanese media, confirmed the team has no option but to fight through the weekend with the two batteries remaining in its cars.
Asked what happens if both become unusable, his answer was stark. “Yes,” he said, when asked whether the team would simply be unable to run.
“We can’t urgently transport batteries, so we’ll fight with what we have,” Watanabe said. “We will carefully monitor the data and may impose restrictions on its use if necessary.”
Asked about his conversation with Lawrence Stroll late on Friday, Watanabe answered: “What is important for us right now is overcoming the issues that lie before us. Unless we solve the vibration problem, we cannot move on to the next step of confirming performance.”
He also dismissed the idea of pushing ahead with performance upgrades before the root cause is identified. “If we don’t first identify the cause of the vibration, no matter how many upgrades we make, it will be meaningless.”
There was at least one small positive. Honda chief engineer Shintaro Orihara said measures implemented at the Sakura factory appear to be working. “Since Lance and Fernando completed 31 laps together, we were able to gather the necessary data to determine that the things we first implemented on the test bench at HRC in Sakura are working on the track,” he said.
“According to our analysis, there are fewer battery vibrations.”
Alonso, not known for his patience, acknowledged frustration at the spare parts situation but kept his public comments measured. “I drive the car. Of course, I’m disappointed not to have spares when they’re only supplied to one team.
“But that’s the situation.”
He also pushed back at what he called media exaggeration. “We are much more positive than the media, the people around us, and what is said from outside. For now we don’t see the progress we would like to see, but small improvements are there.”
Ferrari’s Marc Gene, speaking to Sky Italia, was less restrained. “Aston Martin’s crisis is an unthinkable, unimaginable situation. It was something you couldn’t even imagine in the worst possible movie.”
Former F1 driver Pedro de la Rosa, an Aston Martin ambassador, was more measured but equally honest. “It’s a bad situation, but nobody should think this is going to be with us all season.
“There’s a reliability issue linked to the vibrations. Then the other Everest will be getting the engine and chassis to perform better. The vibrations aren’t the only problem – this is a development race.
“We’re just starting now, and we’re discovering the problems right before the first race, and now we’re caught red-handed.”
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