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Honda F1 engine stuck with vibration issues until May or June

Honda will have to wait at least another month to completely cure the vibration problems that have plagued it in 2017, for its next major Formula 1 engine upgrade.

The Japanese manufacturer overhauled its package for 2017, which it admits it thought was "too easy", but that has lacked power and reliability since it was introduced in pre-season testing.

One of the biggest problems is excessive vibration on upshifts, which McLaren's Fernando Alonso says is "hurting our confidence and driveability out of the corners".

Honda is working on an upgraded power unit, due for either the Monaco or Canadian Grands Prix, with which it aims to cure its lack of performance and properly address the vibration problems.

"I don't think the drivers agree, but I think we have improved [on the vibrations] since the beginning of the season," Honda chief Yusuke Hasegawa said.

"We improved gradually but it is still not completely solved of course.

"So with the next update I would like to solve clearly."

Asked by Autosport about the progress in curing the vibration issues, Hasegawa said: "We cannot tell you an exact date but here or at any grand prix, if we have the chance, we would like to update our engines."

Hasegawa also revealed that Honda made changes to its power unit in China last weekend, utilising the greater freedom afforded by the token system being scrapped for 2017.

"We updated some inlet system, so there is no limitation about tokens if we need to change the package of the engine," he said.

"But there are still limitations in terms of the number of engines for the season."

Zdroj: autosport.com