Honda going in right direction

Honda seems to be getting it from all sides within the Formula 1 maelstrom. This year it looks to have supplied the long- suffering McLaren team with a duff engine for the third season in a row, causing even the normally aloof Fernando Alonso to suggest, point- blank, that the only thing stopping the team from obtaining podium placings is its association with Honda.

You have to feel for the Spanish eyebrow enthusiast, however. Since rejoining McLaren in 2015, Alonso has not appeared on the podium in 41 races. Not even near it. So far this season his best finish is 14th. Oh dear. Here at The Good Oil we can’t help but feel a bit sorry also for the Japanese manufacturer. After all — and to take an analogy from cinema — no one sets out to make a bad movie, do they? But unfortunately, sometimes, despite the best will in the world, that’s what happens. And after three straight misses, Honda has become the Adam Sandler of the motorsport world.

The difference, we suppose, between them and him, is that Honda does care. You can tell. And so does new Formula 1 owner Liberty Media. With a slight sting in its tail, Liberty Media has suggested Honda’s performance isn’t a good advertisement for the sport.

New F1 CEO Chase Carey talks like a man who will be happy only when there are 45 cars on the grid for each race. A big entity like Honda struggling to perform will put other manufacturers off. Or worse, send them over to — ugh — Formula E, where Jaguar and others are already racing electricpowered open- wheelers in the biggest game of slot cars seen.

For its part, Honda looks to be trying to resolve the situation. There has been a bit of personnel shuffling, too, in recent weeks, suggesting it isn’t just the actual oily bits in the back of the race car that are causing issues.

“We are still behind our rivals,” a Honda spokesperson told US media. “But we are going in the right direction.”

Yes, well. A race car that works only in reverse would be slightly concerning.