Honda's hopes of getting granted extra engine upgrade opportunities through a change in the Formula 1 rules are in limbo after a vote on the matter was unexpectedly pulled at the 11th hour, The Race has learned.

As revealed this week, F1 chiefs and manufacturers have been discussing the idea of giving Honda some extra assistance to recover from its early-season struggles with Aston Martin.

Although it is rare for competitors to give up ground that would offer rivals a helping hand, it is generally accepted that it is in F1's wider interest for Honda not to continue to endure the extent of struggles it has.

It is understood that the main idea to help Honda was to grant it extra resources through the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) rules.

This would be done through revising a cap that is in place for manufacturers that get extra development freedom and financial resources through the ADUO system.

F1's technical regulations state: "ADUO homologation upgrades are not cumulative within a season and will only be granted following the first occasion that the PU manufacturer is assessed by the FIA as eligible for ADUO according to the criteria in this article."

Lifting this cap could mean Honda getting multiple steps to help it move forward rather than a single one.

One of the biggest gains would be in cost cap adjustments, with Honda having the ability to throw extra resources to unlock better potential.

The proposal to help Honda formed part of a vote put to F1's Power Unit Advisory Committee (PUAC) over the past week.

The PUAC comprises a representative from FOM and the FIA, who have a combined single vote, as well as each of the current manufacturers – including Cadillac.

For a proposal to change the rules to go through, it would require a super-majority – which means support from F1/FIA as well as all but one of the manufacturers involved.

The deadline for voting on a package of revisions to the ADUO rules, including the tweak aimed to help Honda, was understood to have been earlier this week with the outcome of the ballot expected to be made public over the Miami GP weekend.

Asked on Thursday morning about the latest on the situation, Honda's trackside general manager and chief engineer Shintaro Orihara said: "We are waiting [for the] FIA on this. We will follow the FIA decision."

However, the outcome that emerged later in the day was one that none of the manufacturers expected – with sources revealing the vote had been suspended after the count was in.

There was no formal explanation for why this had happened, but one source suggested that it was related to a further review of the regulations.

This suggested that the proposals laid out had not got the support necessary to get pushed through, so it could be that one or two of the manufacturers were eager for revisions to be made before they were ready to support it.

This also means that there remains some uncertainty about the state of the wider ADUO situation.

It has still not been confirmed in the regulations if the first cut off point to decide who is awarded ADUO will be moved until following the Canadian Grand Prix in late May or if it remains as after the sixth race – which is now Monaco a fortnight later because of the cancellation of events in Bahrain and Saudi.