Is this situation similar to 2015?
No, I think it’s different. In 2015 we weren’t prepared at the start of testing, but I think Honda didn’t know anything about their own engine at the start of 2015. Today they have a lot of information from the last two years, so I think they already have the answer to all the problems they’ve seen and experienced until now with the info they got from the last two years. I believe that we have a good electrical motor – similar or equal to the best – as we can deploy all the way down the straights almost into the braking areas, so we’re doing well in that area. We’re doing well in terms of strategy, engine mapping, gear shifting speed – things that in 2015 we weren’t able to do. There’s a lot of base work already done, but there are two or three areas of the engine in which we seem to be in neutral and we need, in the last two days, to get on top of those areas, so we can get to Australia in a better condition and then work hard to win races this year.

Would you prefer to be running with an evolution of last year’s engine or are you happy to invest time and lose laps on a completely new engine like this one?
No, no, I don’t mind being in this situation. The laps we complete are quality laps, we’re getting to know the car, we find some issues, like the rear brake calliper overheating after 11 laps, or the tear offs going into the radiators and making temperatures go up, meaning you have to put a net on the intake for Australia to prevent that from happening. You always learn from every lap you complete. What matters is to try different set-ups, hard, soft, different ride heights and get to the end of the day knowing in which conditions the car performs better. You can do that in 12 runs of ten laps each, completing 120 laps, or in 12 runs of three laps, meaning you only get 36 laps in. you have exactly the same information both ways, so with the problems we have now, we’ve opted to go for short runs, because we get very useful information at the end of the day, helping us to improve the car all the time. We haven’t been able to show it, but I think we’re going in the right direction.

A statement from the Surtees family has confirmed the 83-year-old "passed away peacefully this afternoon" and "his wife, Jane and daughters, Leonora and Edwina were by his side".

"We deeply mourn the loss of such an incredible, kind and loving man as well as celebrate his amazing life. He has set a very real example of someone who kept pushing himself at his peak and one who continued fighting until the very end."

Asked whether he would accept to go back to V8 or V12 engines for entertainment purposes, as has been suggested in some quarters and by many fans, Todt said,

“It will not be accepted by society. Again we have a responsibility to run an organisation monitored by global society. And global society will not accept that. I’m sure if you said, ‘let’s go back to engines from ten years back’, a lot of manufacturers would not support [that] any more. I’m sure you would have a minimum of three out of four who would leave.”