For a nation known for its proverbs and philosophical sayings, Japanese manufacturer Honda was clearly caught on the hoof when testing its new engine on the dyno.

Taking full advantage of the controversial token system to build an all new engine, which, certainly in terms of layout, was similar to the all-conquering unit used by Mercedes, all was looking good when run on the dyno.

But then came the reality...

"We were thinking it was too easy, and it was too difficult to achieve the new technology, that was my mistake," Yusuke Hasegawa told Motorsport.com.

"We did some good progress in the mono-cylinder on the dyno, but as soon as we complete the V6 engine we had many issues," he admits. "What we achieved in mono-cylinder is at a very good level, but when we transfer exactly the same specification to the V6 engine it doesn't work.

"We are very disappointed," he adds, a masterpiece of understatement. "But it was too late that we noticed that... at Christmas. After we understand the issues this was the time we need to confirm the final specification, we needed to have some compromise."

Other than being down on power, the reliability issues have mainly been down to vibration.

"We have huge vibrations," he admits. "The only thing I can tell is that on the dyno we didn't have such a big issue... when we have a gearbox, driveshaft and tyre it has some resonance.

"I'm not blaming the chassis," he insists, "we have to realise the situation on the dyno as well."

Claiming that the new engine produces "almost the same power" as the 2016 unit, Hasegawa says the much-anticipated update could be ready for the Spanish Grand Prix next month..

"If we find a good solution we need to change the engine for round five or six," he says, "so I really want to update our specification before then, or to that time.

"We have already achieved some good level of performance with the mono-cylinder engine," he adds, triggering one's inner sense of deja vu. "The thing we have to do is transfer that technology to the V6. Although we still have to improve that, we have some confidence we can achieve that level."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by petes, 06/04/2017 20:44

"Transparency Ryan? Twaddle!

If you can look in one ear and see out the other, there's nothing in between! That's what you're seeing......"

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2. Posted by NS Biker, 06/04/2017 5:21

"Honda undoubtedly has the technical expertise. At least we hope that they do. What they seem to be lacking is the mentality to recognize what it means to compete and to compete in F1.
Saw a recent quote about getting it done today when yesterday would have been better.
If they can't come to grips with the level of intensity and the speed of development that F1 demands, then McLaren will be in the same position at the end of this season and again next.
Honda has really had over 3 years to get to this point. Catching up is not enough, they need to leap ahead.
Good luck to them because we really want to see them be successful."

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3. Posted by equator180, 06/04/2017 3:13

"IMO, pretty lame excuse. They had over a full year to develope and were only at a mono-cylinder set up in December? They should have been at the V6 stage even before this. Maybe they put this unit in lawn mowers!"

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4. Posted by ryanhellyer, 05/04/2017 17:54

"I appreciate them having some transparency for once. It's also nice to know where the problem lies and why they were so confident. It also sounds like something they may be able to fix. If they have the power in the mono-cylinder setup and think that should be translatable into a complete engine, then they presumably can do just that. It's not like Honda are n00bs at engine development; they do in theory know what they're doing."

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5. Posted by edllorca, 05/04/2017 16:33

"Well it's clear that Honda is in over its head. Very sad as we the fans desperately want to see more competition."

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Hasegawa: Engine step seemed "too easy"

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