18/05/2016
NEWS STORY
Honda F1 boss, Yusuke Hasegawa, has admitted that his company is unhappy at plans to 'force' manufacturers to supply engines.
Under the new rules engine manufacturers have to be prepared to supply multiple teams, the direct result of the Red Bull saga that dominated last year when the Austrian team was unable to secure a suitable deal, Mercedes and Ferrari having turned it down.
Currently, Honda is only due to supply one team in 2017, McLaren, however under the new rules it can be compelled to supply other teams.
"We are not happy," Yusuke Hasegawa told Autosport. "We understand we need to supply multiple teams. We have to contribute to the F1 society... currently Ferrari and Mercedes are providing to four teams and we are only one.
"We are not controlled by FIA to select a team so as a regulation point of view, I don't think it's a very good thing," he added. "Our performance isn't high enough to have more conversations from other teams. So we need to wait to see what happens on June 1."
The June 1 deadline is the point at which the FIA steps in should any team find itself without an engine deal for 2017, and, believe it or not, if talks cannot settle the matter the issue would be decided by ballot.
That said, it is understood that under certain conditions the manufacturer could decline.
"It's not automatic," Hasegawa confirmed. "The FIA recommends to start negotiations with certain teams. We need to fix some conditions, like cost price. If we can't agree with that, it's impossible to have that connection. We have to try to make a negotiation."