Honda motorsport chief Yasuhisa Arai says he is the man to lead Honda’s Formula 1 programme, despite a disappointing start to the season which has seen McLaren score just five points in nice races.
The Japanese manufacturer is struggling with both reliability and power, and although it is beginning to get on top of the former, the latter remains a massive hurdle.
Arai insists whilst the pressure on him is mounting, he sees no reason to step aside and let someone else lead the project.
“I always feel a big pressure because McLaren-Honda is a historical legend,” he said. “We had big results and many fans of our team are pushing hard for us.
“It’s a big pressure but it is comfortable. I’m very comfortable. It’s comfortable for both the team and Honda.”
When asked specifically if he is the right man for the job, he said: “Yes. I want to lead my programme by myself. I promise it’s a long-term project for Honda.
“We must make the step we are able to take in place each year. It’s a long-term project.”
Meanwhile Arai admitted they’ve yet to decide on how to spend their seven remaining development tokens, but says performance will now take priority.
“After [Silverstone], we haven’t decided yet when to use the remaining tokens,” he explained.
“We have many new items to apply to get more power and more reliability using the tokens.
“We are going to focus more on performance now, reliability is always something we look at, but performance is the focus.
“We will look to make a step in the second half of the season.”
