2017 Honda engine is a "high risk" - Hasegawa

Honda have admitted that their recently revealed re-constructed 2017 engine that will power McLaren is a big risk.

Honda re-joined the sport in 2015 as an power unit supplier but have struggled to make gains on their rivals, leaving McLaren playing catch up to the rest of the field, going from ninth to sixth from 2015 to 2016.

"The concept is completely different," Honda's motorsport boss Yusuke Hasegawa told Autosport. "It's very high risk, we don't know a lot of things about that new concept. We know it will give us a performance advantage but the biggest risk is whether we can realise that potential this year."

Hasegawa said that the team need to focus on the internal combustion engine (ICE) this year, if they wish to catch up to the rest of the engine suppliers in terms of performance.

"We need to concentrate on the ICE for this year," he said. "If we improve the engine itself, which means boosting exhaust gas energy, we need to boost the turbine otherwise we cannot perform at the same level in terms of deployment.

"We still have to do some tests and there will be some trial and error. I hope we have understood the direction and the elements to focus on. But it's not easy to combine the elements to realise the improvements on the ICE completely."

Fergal Walsh