F1 News
Honda still playing catch-up to Mercedes and Ferrari - Tanabe
- Jake Williams-Smith
Honda is still playing a game of catch-up versus the top power unit manufacturers according to Honda boss, Toyoharu Tanabe.
The Japanese manufacturer has made serious progress over the past two seasons with Toro Rosso in 2018 and most recently adding Red Bull to its list of customers.
While Honda has been slowly improving their power unit, Tanabe admits they are still a distance away from being truly competitive with Ferrari and Mercedes in the engine game.
"I frequently told you that we are still in the position of catching up the top PU manufacturers, in terms of power and also the reliability," Tanabe said in the Friday FIA press conference.
"We are still developing for both. It means we know our position is a little bit down from these top competitors.
"But in terms of the performance since the first race of this year, our forecasts showed good performance on the track, so I’m looking forward to seeing tomorrow and then the race here.
Our development is ongoing and we are considering when we introduce the next step up. But we are observing the current situation on the PU, mileage and then damage, and we are discussing with the teams when is the best timing to introduce new, updated PU to the trackside.
"It’s not only a Honda matter; we are closely working with the teams, for both Toro Rosso and Red Bull. At the moment I cannot tell exactly when but we are looking for a new, updated PU."