Honda ‘ashamed’ of Alonso’s Japan GP penalty

Honda F1 boss Yusuke Hasegawa says he is “very ashamed” that Fernando Alonso was hit with a grid penalty for yet another engine change, and at Honda’s home race.

Alonso will start Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix from the very back of the grid after incurring a 35-place grid penalty.

Honda discoverd a hydraulic leak after Friday’s practice and opted to change his engine.

With an eighth ICE, 10th turbo and MGU-H, and eighth MGU-K, seventh battery, and sixth control electronics unit, the Spaniard was guaranteed a back of the grid start much to Honda’s embarrassment.

“I’m very ashamed,” Hasegawa told Autosport.

“We didn’t have an engine failure, we had some hydraulic leakage, which we can change if we find out [the cause] with enough time.

“But we couldn’t, that’s why we need to change the engine.”