Honda admits its reliability has worsened

Lance Stroll is on course to break the record for the most retirements in a single season. The Canadian driver has finished just five races this year. Andrea de Cesaris still holds the Formula 1 record, having failed to finish 14 races in 1987, when there were far fewer grands prix. Stroll has recorded 13 retirements so far this year, for which he can mainly “thank” the reliability of the Honda power unit.

The Canadian is breaking one unwanted record after another. He is currently the undisputed leader in Q1 exits and is also seriously threatening de Cesaris’s record. Interestingly, the Italian finished just two grands prix in 1987, while Stroll has finished five so far this season. However, with the calendar now featuring far more races, Lance could equal the unwanted record as early as Las Vegas.

The blame lies primarily with Honda, which has reluctantly admitted that its reliability record is actually getting worse as the season progresses. “Mid-season, our reliability was better,” Honda’s chief engineer Shintaro Orihara told Spanish newspaper AS, as reported by Nextgen-auto.com.

“In the last three races, we’ve had similar problems that aren’t related to mileage or the demands placed on the components, especially when it comes to batteries,” Orihara admitted.

Even worse news, however, is that Honda apparently does not know what the problem is. The Japanese company and its representatives have maintained their candid approach, admitting they do not know what caused Stroll’s latest retirement on Sunday. “We know what the problem was, but we don’t know the root cause, so we need to understand that first,” the Japanese engineer said.

The Brazilian weekend had offered Aston Martin an ideal opportunity. Fernando Alonso showed in both qualifying and the race that power unit performance matters less in the wet. The Spanish veteran started in the top 10 after an excellent performance, but a lack of power left him with little chance of scoring points and he ultimately had to settle for 12th place.

“The rainy conditions hide our weaknesses in terms of engine performance and deployment. But handling becomes more important, and we still need to improve,” said Orihara.