Honda is yet to identify which areas of its power unit to improve with its available tokens this season.
Honda has nine in-season engine development tokens available to spend on its power unit, a number which was dictated by the average not spent by Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault during the winter. McLaren-Honda is yet to score a point since reforming its iconic partnership this year after suffering a multitude of teething problems.
The limited number of tokens available means Honda needs to identify which areas would lead to the biggest gains if they were developed, something motorsport boss Yasuhisa Arai says has delayed the Japanese manufacturer formulating a concrete plan so far.
"We don't have an exact plan like that right now," Arai said during the Spanish Grand Prix weekend. "There are 14 remaining races and we have to find an effective way to use the tokens. We have nine tokens and we haven't decided where to use them yet."
Arai says Honda has plenty of potential developmental areas it is considering.
"We already prepared or confirmed which areas are the most effective. I know we make the plan to apply how many tokens we spend, we are making the plan right now. One is combustion, and the MGU-K and MGU-H because energy is very important. Combustion and energy recovery systems are very important."
"We need more horsepower. Maybe change the combustion concept, or the turbocharger, or the camshaft, those kind of parts. We are now confirming which parts are most effective. We should try to change the combustion concept because maybe the other power-unit suppliers always think about more good combustion characteristics."
Last week Honda saw its hopes for the introduction of a fifth power unit squashed by the F1 Strategy Group, something Arai and McLaren boss Eric Boullier had been advocates of.