Jenson Button has confirmed reports that Honda is working on a major redesign of its Formula 1 'power unit' for McLaren to use in 2017.

The Japanese marque has made steps forward this year after a disastrous 2015, but Button was still a tenth shy of making it into Q3 in Russia.

So while Honda is planning more upgrades for later this year, reports this week suggested the manufacturer has now acknowledged that putting the turbo inside the 'V' of the six-cylinder internal combustion engine was a mistake.

"I think with the way the engine is, yes, it's difficult to extract the power that we feel we need," Button said at Sochi.

"And that's not me saying that, that's Honda and that's why the makeover for next year [is in the works]."

Whether the 36-year-old Briton will actually get to race the 2017 McLaren-Honda, however, is another question.

It is rumoured that the Anglo-Japanese collaboration may already have quietly taken the decision to pair Fernando Alonso with Belgian reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne for 2017.

Button said on Saturday that rumours he is switching to Williams for 2017 are premature, insisting that he has not opened talks with any team yet.