Honda set for ANOTHER Aston Martin investigation as Fernando Alonso makes stunning admission

Honda have admitted that they are set to investigate the issues that caused yet another DNF for Lance Stroll in Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.

Stroll pulled over to retire his Aston Martin after 30 laps with another power unit issue in Sao Paulo, his 13th retirement of the season and the 14th time he failed to complete enough laps to be a classified finisher.

Honda's Shintaro Orihara said after the race that the power unit supplier are aware of what the problem was on the Canadian's car, but not the root cause of the issue – with a thorough investigation set to take place before the next race in Las Vegas.

Orihara also conceded that the rainy conditions in Sao Paulo did a lot to cover up the limitations that the Honda power unit has placed on the Aston Martin team, with Fernando Alonso emphatically agreeing with that assessment.

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Honda: We need to understand cause of Stroll issue

In a Honda release post-race, Orihara said: "The race began well from a power unit perspective until we suffered an ERS issue on Lance’s car on Lap 30. From the data, we suspect it’s the same problem as yesterday and we need to find the root cause of this before the next race.

"Fernando’s eighth place on the grid is our highest starting position of the year with the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One™ Team and that is encouraging. In the mixed weather conditions during the race, we kept adapting the power unit settings well to the wet and the dry running."

Speaking to the media, he added: "Mid-season, our reliability was better. In the last three races, we've had similar problems that aren't related to mileage or the demands placed on the components, especially when it comes to batteries. We know what the problem was (in Stroll's case), but we don't know the root cause, so we need to understand that first.

“The rainy conditions hide our weaknesses in terms of engine performance and deployment. But handling becomes more important, and we still need to improve. There's room for improvement for the upcoming races and especially next year.”

Alonso: With a better engine we'd have been a second faster than Mercedes

Alonso seemed split after the race, which he finished in 12th place after some battles with both Ferrari drivers, praising the Adrian Newey-designed car while pointing out just how much the engine performance continues to harm the team.

"It was probably the best race for the car feeling today," he said. "The car was phenomenal on the corners and we were battling with the Ferraris at one point, and even in the last five laps on the inters we were in the mix with the two Mercedes.

"One lap down, but we were in the mix with the Mercedes [in terms of pace]. Taking into account how much we lose on the straight, that means that probably today we could have been one second faster than them per lap.

"So, as I said, the car was phenomenal."

He brushed off suggestions that he might've enjoyed the weekend more than any other this year though, saying: "No, I don't enjoy. I come, I do my job. There is no fun to drive with different tools. So, working hard to next year to close the gap and be a little bit more in a competitive environment."

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