Honda system confused by Alonso taking Pouhon flat
Fernando Alonso's brilliance in taking the Pouhon corner flat out for the first time in qualifying led to the energy deployment failure that cost him a place in Q3, Motorsport.com has learned.









After receiving a tow from teammate Stoffel Vandoorne at the beginning of his final effort in Q2, Alonso had looked set to deliver a laptime that would have been good enough to get through to the final top 10 shootout.
But between Turn 11 (the exit of Double Gauche) and Turn 12 (the entry of the Fagnes Chicane), Alonso received no extra energy deployment from his Honda power unit.
With a full deployment of energy worth around 160hp, Alonso claimed on the radio that he had lost half a second at that moment – which was enough for him to abort his lap.
The lack of energy was not the result of a failure on the car, but was instead caused by Honda's system not deploying when it was automatically expected to.
Motorsport.com has learned that this failure to deliver the energy was the result of Honda's system getting confused about where it was on the track.
Honda's deployment algorithm is calculated through major throttle input, with it basing its calculations of which corner it is at by major throttle inputs.
So when there is a lift of the throttle, for example, the system takes this into account and works out it must have gone through a corner.
When Alonso took Pouhon flat out – rather than lifting as he had done previously over the weekend – Honda's system did not realise he had already gone through the corner.
Thinking Alonso was still on the run from the Liege downhill corner, rather than on the straight between Turn 11/12, it did not deploy any more energy.
Honda F1 engine chief Yusuke Hasegawa has confirmed that the issue was related to the control system.
"We set a segment to when we have the deployment, and normally that segment is divided by the throttle," he said when asked by Motorsport.com.
"Sometimes a driver is making a different operation, so that makes the system confused and we didn't have deployment at some certain area."
Hasegawa later said that Honda would likely need to change its procedures to ensure there is no repeat incident.

Alonso admits he has offers from rival F1 teams
Pirelli investigating unprecedented tyre phenomenon

Latest news
FIA finalises 2026 Formula 1 engine regulations
The FIA has finally approved the wording of the 2026 Formula 1 power unit regulations, which in turn paves the way for Porsche to enter in partnership with Red Bull.
F1 porpoising and roll hoop rules changes ratified by FIA
The FIA's World Motorsport Council has approved changes to the floor regulations in Formula 1 to prevent the porpoising phenomenon seen this year.
How one of F1's greatest names was revived
With its eponymous Formula 1 team falling into obscurity in the 90s, the Brabham name looked relegated to the manufacturers' history books. But after a long legal battle, the family reclaimed its rights and in 2018 launched Brabham Automotive. David Brabham discusses what came next for the iconic brand
Tsunoda gives himself 7/10 for start to F1 2022 season
Yuki Tsunoda believes he has made a measurable improvement as a driver during his second season in Formula 1, rating his year to date as seven out of 10.
Nicholas Latifi: The under-fire F1 driver fighting for his future
Personable, articulate and devoid of the usual racing driver airs and graces, Nicholas Latifi is the last Formula 1 driver you’d expect to receive death threats, but such was the toxic legacy of his part in last year’s explosive season finale. And now, as ALEX KALINAUCKAS explains, he faces a battle to keep his place on the F1 grid…
The strange tyre travails faced by F1’s past heroes
Modern grand prix drivers like to think the tyres they work with are unusually difficult and temperamental. But, says MAURICE HAMILTON, their predecessors faced many of the same challenges – and some even stranger…
The returning fan car revolution that could suit F1
Gordon Murray's Brabham BT46B 'fan car' was Formula 1 engineering at perhaps its most outlandish. Now fan technology has been successfully utilised on the McMurtry Speirling at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, could it be adopted by grand prix racing once again?
Hamilton's first experience of turning silver into gold
The seven-time F1 champion has been lumbered with a duff car before the 2022 Mercedes. Back in 2009, McLaren’s alchemists transformed the disastrous MP4-24. And now it’s happening again at his current team
Why few would blame Leclerc if he leaves Ferrari in future
OPINION: Ferrari's numerous strategy blunders, as well as some of his own mistakes, have cost Charles Leclerc dearly in the 2022 Formula 1 title battle in the first half of the season. Though he is locked into a deal with Ferrari, few could blame Leclerc if he ultimately wanted to look elsewhere - just as Lewis Hamilton did with McLaren 10 years prior.
The other McLaren exile hoping to follow Perez's path to a top F1 seat
After being ditched by McLaren earlier in his F1 career Sergio Perez fought his way back into a seat with a leading team. BEN EDWARDS thinks the same could be happening to another member of the current grid
How studying Schumacher helped make Coulthard a McLaren F1 mainstay
Winner of 13 grands prix including Monaco and survivor of a life-changing plane crash, David Coulthard could be forgiven for having eased into a quiet retirement – but, as MARK GALLAGHER explains, in fact he’s busier than ever, running an award-winning media company and championing diversity in motor racing. Not bad for someone who, by his own admission, wasn’t quite the fastest driver of his generation…
Could F1 move to a future beyond carbon fibre?
Formula 1 has ambitious goals for improving its carbon footprint, but could this include banishing its favoured composite material? Pat Symonds considers the alternatives to carbon fibre and what use, if any, those materials have in a Formula 1 setting