Aston Martin shuts down Honda F1 battery talk: ‘What’s the point of those questions?’

Aston Martin and Honda held a joint media session in China on Thursday, but weren’t too keen on journalists asking questions about spare batteries

“Why should there be no good news?”

As Aston Martin’s chief trackside officer Mike Krack welcomed the media in the Shanghai Formula 1 paddock, his tongue-in-cheek opening comment set the tone of the ensuing conversation.

There remained a lot of explaining to do for Krack alongside Honda’s trackside general manager Shintaro Orihara, after Fernando Alonso retired from the season-opening Australian Grand Prix last weekend while Lance Stroll finished 15 laps down and therefore was not classified.

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Aston Martin’s issues stem from its new engine partner; crippling vibrations from the internal combustion unit damaged all batteries in testing, while preventing drivers from covering a race distance consecutively as they feared “permanent nerve damage” to their hands, team boss Adrian Newey said.

In the Melbourne race, Alonso had a 13-lap stint followed by a 16-minute break and an eight-lap run; Stroll ran 34 laps in a row, then another nine after spending 18 minutes in the garage.

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: William West / AFP via Getty Images

There hasn’t been much turnaround time as the Chinese Grand Prix takes places this weekend, but according to Honda, the situation is improving.

“We have found some progress on the vibration situation, and then still we keep working hard to reduce vibration,” Orihara said. “Still, reliability is our challenging point to improve. So still we are working hard in dialogue with Aston Martin, and then we found something, another countermeasure, so maybe we can try something.

“Also, we have accumulated mileage in the race, so we learned something from the race event for the driveability and also energy management. So we implement that learning into our simulation system.”

Given spares have been an issue, Honda has been restoring the only two batteries that were available in Melbourne.

“We are trying to repair the battery,” Orihara said. “We saw some good progress in terms of repairing. I can't say detail point, but we are keeping working hard to repair the battery. So, maybe we can repair the battery, because that battery issue is not relating to vibration, just small things inside the battery.”

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: Marcel van Dorst / EYE4images / NurPhoto via Getty Images

However, when asked how many batteries Aston and Honda had at their disposal for the Chinese GP weekend, both Krack and Orihara proved elusive.

“We can't say the exact number, but we keep trying to repair the battery to get more spares. But, sorry, I can't say the number,” the Japanese initially said.

The pair was pressed on whether there were more batteries than in Melbourne, regardless of the exact number; Krack retorted: “I think we should not... What is the point if we go on about the number of batteries? I don't think that this is something that we should try to insist on, insist on and insist on. We have a situation that was disclosed in Melbourne, and I don't think that we should continue on this battery number discussion, if you allow.”

Motorsport understands Honda has three batteries in Shanghai – so one spare.

The duo was then asked how healthy the batteries from Melbourne were; Newey’s comments on finding out about Honda’s tricky staffing situation last November only were also put to them.

“Also, I want to focus to the technical side in this meeting. Is that okay for you?” Orihara simply replied.

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As far as the vibrations endured by the drivers are concerned, they haven’t been Honda’s focus, with the manufacturer prioritising its power unit’s actual reliability.

Both drivers have been understandably downbeat, with Stroll claiming the vibrations were like ‘electrocuting yourself on a chair’; compounding their issues is the car’s dire lack of performance. Alonso was two and a half seconds off the pace in Q1; only the Cadillacs were slower.

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: Paul Crock / AFP via Getty Images

However, Krack has been sympathetic to his drivers’ dismay. “You know, it's a difficult situation, obviously,” the Luxembourger said. “Nobody wants to be in that position, but the drivers are part of the team, just like we are, and we are in this together. So we have to try and find ways to work together.

“Sometimes it's more emotional, sometimes it is more constructive, and you have to understand that the drivers are in a unique situation because they have to do what we do all the time here. After every session, they have to answer questions and they have to answer questions that are really difficult to them. And often they do not have a solution or they do not have the right answer to give. So, I think their frustration level is understandably a little bit higher.”

Now, what can Aston Martin aim for this weekend? Is finishing the race a realistic target yet? “Every lap you do is important,” Krack insisted. “When you go racing, that has to be the first target. So, we'll try.

“I think with the steps we have made, with further steps that we are going to try this weekend, it will bring us closer to that, and that will obviously be the target.”

Additional reporting by Filip Cleeren