Honda motor sport boss Yasuhisa Arai says that the Japanese manufacturer is on schedule with its new F1 power unit, but says it won't run on track in a McLaren until the Jerez test at the start of next season.
“In the next couple of weeks we will run simulations and at the beginning of next year we will start to run on the track, very likely at Jerez. That will very likely be the first time to show the whole car, the Honda engine and the McLaren chassis - the Honda McLaren.”
There is no longer any discussion of Honda running in the test after the Abu Dhabi race: “Right now there are no plans to collect data during the rest of 2014. Jerez will be the first time.”
Arai says the door is open to further teams in 2016 or beyond.
“In 2015 we don't have the plan to supply any team other than McLaren. In 2016 or after, if some teams or partners ask us to supply them too, we will take a look at that situation. But even in 2016 McLaren will be our main partner in F1. And even if we supply other teams from 2016 onwards our main focus will always be to win - to make the engine better through more data - and not necessarily to look at a return on investment. If you win that comes automatically.
Intriguingly he is sure that Honda can be competitive: “I have confidence that we will match Mercedes. I think that the two other engine suppliers will recover next season, I strongly believe that. And we will be there too.
“You can only make conclusions when you have all the different data on the table. I can imagine that Mercedes found the perfect balance between their chassis and their power unit and that the others didn't find that balance. So we work together with McLaren as one team, because this is the only way to go.”
