Honda still searching for the cause of Lance Stroll’s battery problems

Honda is still struggling to explain Lance Stroll’s 13th retirement of the season. At the Brazilian Grand Prix, the Aston Martin driver’s race in Sao Paulo ended after 30 laps. He was 18th, 28 seconds behind his 12th-placed team-mate Fernando Alonso. A battery problem was involved, but its root cause has yet to be established.

Stroll summed up the failure in a few words: “Battery issue.” Asked how the AMR26 had felt before he retired, he replied tersely: “It was alright.” Honda trackside general manager and chief engineer Shintaro Orihara then offered more detail on the difficulties.

“Yesterday we had a battery issue on Lance’s car, and we had another battery issue today; at the moment, we know what happened, but we don’t know the root cause,” Orihara said. Honda will check the data and the battery. The investigation could take a few weeks, he cautioned.

The task is not just to diagnose this failure: Orihara said Honda needs to understand its underlying cause to find a countermeasure for next year and prevent the same issue from recurring. He also said reliability had been better in the middle of the season, before several problems emerged over the last two or three races. Honda cannot yet tell whether the recent battery trouble is related to mileage or operation.

The latest problems are reminiscent of engine vibrations that repeatedly damaged batteries earlier in the season. However, a connection between the issues is considered unlikely. At Interlagos, rain also concealed some weaknesses of the Honda-powered Aston Martin: Alonso made the top 10 in all three qualifying segments. Orihara said wet conditions masked limitations in engine performance and deployment, while making the car’s drivability especially important.

Honda nevertheless believes that drivability needs to improve in both the race and qualifying. Orihara pointed to some encouraging aspects, but also areas to address before the next race and for next year. Finding the cause of the battery failures therefore remains a priority, alongside learning from the Brazilian weekend.