Fernando Alonso said the turbo in his Honda power unit was “broken” at the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, but the Japanese engine manufacturer has rejected these claims.
Alonso took an engine-related grid drop for the race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit after complaining about the Honda PU in the back of his AMR26 during qualifying.
The two-time F1 World Champion believed the turbo was “broken”, and Aston Martin promptly replaced the unit.
That said, Honda’s chief trackside engineer Shintaro Orihara insisted that they have not “seen any big issues” on Alonso’s qualifying engine.
“It was not broken, but we decided to change the components based on Fernando’s feedback,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“On the data, we still haven’t seen any big issues, but again, the driver is the best sensor, and so we decided to change the unit based on this comment.
“We gathered data in the race, and then we also have data running with other components in qualifying, so we will bring that data and check it carefully in the factory.”
Honda makes Fernando Alonso promise ahead of F1 US GP
Honda has already introduced its ADUO-2 spec engine for Alonso, but the Spaniard was evidently lacking power and pace during the 62-lap race last weekend.
At the chequered flag, the 45-year-old was only able to muster a 16th-place finish for the Silverstone-based team.
For the race weekend at the Circuit of the Americas, however, Honda has promised to ensure that all components of its engine are “working correctly”.
“We fortunately have two weeks, so we will check everything to make sure our components are working correctly,” Orihara added.
“We need to do some fine-tuning for drivability and boost, and I believe another manufacturer is also trying to tune to get drivability and boost, and not performance coming from the power itself and energy management.”
Alonso currently sits 17th in the drivers’ standings, tied on seven points with the likes of Esteban Ocon and Carlos Sainz.
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