Vatanabe: We have reached full agreement with Aston Martin.

      The Australian Grand Prix this year became one of the toughest moments in the history of Aston Martin F1. Its leader, Adrian Newey, spoke about the problems with the Honda power unit with an unusual frankness for Formula 1, and the journalists present at that press conference were quite surprised.

      In particular, he admitted that the team realized too late the scale of the impending difficulties: "We didn't know about this. We only understood it last November when we went to Tokyo to discuss rumors that the Honda engineers would not be able to achieve the level of power initially discussed by the first race.

      It was then that it became clear that many of the development team members had not returned (to the Formula 1 engine development program)..."

      In the five months since, 11 Grands Prix have taken place, and the situation has changed quite significantly – this is reported by the Spanish newspaper Marca, which closely follows the situation at Aston Martin, as Fernando Alonso, a two-time world champion, drives for this team.

      Specialists working at the bases in Silverstone and Sakura have established effective cooperation, and certain progress has already been made – at least, the issue of vibrations in the power unit has been resolved, and at the end of August in Zandvoort, Honda engineers will present an upgraded version of the power unit.

      "Our cooperation with Aston Martin is getting better and better," said Koji Watanabe, president of Honda Racing Corporation (HRC). "We have reached full agreement on how to improve efficiency, what goals we should set for ourselves, and what tests to conduct to achieve those goals.

      In Formula 1, it is very important to act as a single team so that everyone has a common vision."

      There are rumors that the upgraded version of the Honda engine will be about 30 hp more powerful, and the hybrid system of the power unit will work much more efficiently.

      "We want to show good results in Zandvoort, although the characteristics of the specific track also play a role," Watanabe confirmed.