Struggling Japanese manufacturers Honda will be using their final four in-season ‘tokens’ at Sochi this weekend, Auto Motor und Sport reports.
The tokens will be used to bring a new engine specification to the Russian Grand Prix and it is reported that the new power unit will only be fitted to Fernando Alonso’s McLaren. Use of the tokens will result in the Spaniard suffering a grid penalty and will most likely be starting the race from the back of the grid.
At the previous race in Suzuka, McLaren Chairman Ron Dennis spoke about the reliability damage caused by the team’s desire to move forward.
“We have tried to move forward faster and that has affected reliability and made the whole thing more challenging,” Dennis explained.
“But this very acute pain we have inflicted on ourselves is the fastest way for us to get back to where we need to get to.”
Mercedes customer teams Williams, Force India and Lotus will also be bringing a new engine specification to Sochi, however, these will not be the same specification currently being used by the works team.
Sauber are also speculated to be getting new Ferrari engines, but these will be the Montreal specification, not the ‘super motor’ engines that were introduced by the works team at Monza.
Red Bull are still waiting for news on their upgraded engine. Renault had originally promised there would be new engine upgrades for Sochi, but team boss Christian Horner is left scratching his head at when the new engine will arrive.
