Honda "relaxed" by podium but "clear gap" remains
Honda has been "relaxed" by scoring its first Formula 1 podium in 11 years at the first attempt with Red Bull, but still sees a "clear" performance gap to reduce.
The Japanese manufacturer rejoined the F1 grid in 2015 but failed to score a top-three finish across three seasons with McLaren and then spent last year quietly improving in the midfield with Red Bull's junior team Toro Rosso.
Max Verstappen's third-place in the 2019 season-opening Australian Grand Prix was Honda's first rostrum in F1 since Rubens Barrichello stood on the 2008 British GP podium.
Asked if it was important to get this result early in the Red Bull relationship, Honda F1 technical director Toyoharu Tanabe told Motorsport.com: "I think yes, [we are] a little bit more relaxed from the pressure.
"And it is also another motivation for the development. It's a good result."
Verstappen caught and passed the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel to finish in third place, and pressured the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages.
While Tanabe admitted that "when you see that on the TV, it's good", he stressed Honda must continue to improve as Ferrari and Mercedes still hold an engine performance advantage.
Mercedes' race winner Valtteri Bottas finished more than 20 seconds ahead of Verstappen, who was a regular podium finisher in 2018 with Renault power.
Tanabe said: "We got some data from the Barcelona tests and we have something from here.
"We see again a clear gap between the top teams. The podium doesn't make any change [to targets or expectations]."
All four Honda-powered cars made it to the finish in the season opener, with Daniil Kvyat scoring a point for Toro Rosso in 10th.
Red Bull's headline result included defeating the Ferraris by almost half a minute, but Tanabe said his encouragement was "50/50".
"We need to think about the Ferrari performance after Barcelona [in pre-season testing], they were strong," he said.
"This track, we were faster than the Ferrari. We don't know when we go to Barcelona again if Ferrari is still strong.
"It's a combination of car characteristics, the driver, and the track characteristics.
"It's not easy to tell where our performance is now. We go to a different place, maybe we are in a different position.
"But generally, the result and the race pace, we are encouraged from that."
Share Or Save This Story
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
F1 Singapore GP: Sunday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch
Max Verstappen hints at change after Red Bull's poor F1 starts in Malaysia and Singapore
How the Bahrain GP in Malaysia exposed Red Bull’s hidden resurgence
Illegal DTM team orders at Mercedes-AMG? Auer offers curious explanation
F1 Singapore GP: Sunday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch
Keselowski still tight-lipped on RFK exit; appreciating the process of free agency
Lewis Hamilton plots Ferrari ambush on Max Verstappen after frustrating qualifying
What we learned from the 2026 F1 Singapore GP sprint and qualifying
How Honda plans a return to being an F1 powerhouse
Why Red Bull's 'crazy' power unit success matters so much for F1
No denying it now – the one reason why F1’s ‘horrible’ start in Malaysia could be a good thing
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments