Analysis

F1 test analysis: Honda deficit hits 10,500km

Honda’s pre-season testing troubles have already left it more than 10,500km behind Formula 1 rival Mercedes, as it faces a mountain to climb to recover lost ground.

The Japanese manufacturer’s revised 2017 F1 power unit has faced a spate of performance and reliability issues throughout the two Barcelona tests – where its plight to get miles has not been helped by it only supplying one team.

But the extent to which it has fallen behind rival manufacturers is dramatic, looking at the distances covered by the four car-makers over the pre-season testing programme.

Mercedes, which has its works team plus Williams and Force India, managed to cover 12,479 kilometres during the two Barcelona tests.

Ferrari, which also supplies its 2017-spec power unit to Haas, did 7778km, while the Renault engines in its works team plus Red Bull and Toro Rosso covered 8681km.

Honda, which only supplies McLaren, managed just 1978km as it spent most of the two tests in the garage, with engineers trying to cure recurring electrical problems - which were understood to have been caused by excessive vibrations.

The lack of reliability of the Honda engine – which could only manage, at best, 11-lap stints throughout the test – has been highlighted as its biggest issue at the moment.

Such was the extent of the problems that Fernando Alonso ended the two tests as the driver that covered the fewest laps in total (among F1 2017 regulars) – with just 190 laps completed.

That is two less than Sauber’s Pascal Wehrlein managed, and the German had been forced to miss the first test through injury.

Speaking over the week, Alonso said the engine situation was out of his hands – as he said all he could do was stay committed in the cockpit.

Asked what the short-term solutions were, he said: “I don't have any except doing my job well and be as fast as possible on the corners.

“I think what needs a quick solution is the engine, to try to unlock the power, if it's true that it's there.

“We haven't been able to run with all the power. And then reliability. We want to be able to do 15 laps, 35 or 43, as many as we want and stop when we want. Not when some alarm has gone off.”