Honda hopes for podiums with Toro Rosso from 2018

Honda will remain F1 thanks to the partnership linked with Toro Rosso for 2018. The Japanese engine manufacturer who will see his contract with McLaren end at the end of this season, however, remains optimistic about his development potential even if he regrets the departure of the Woking team.

Katsuhide Moriyami, Honda's director of brand and communications operations, said that the Asian engine manufacturer intended to fight for the podium next year despite the current performance and reliability deficit of its Power Unit.

“It is true that we have gone through a difficult situation and no one is satisfied with the current results, especially the management committee, Katsuhide Moriyami recognized. We had many discussions but leaving F1 was never an option for us. Our objective is to take up this tough challenge and return to fight with the adversaries at the forefront in our discipline. Honda's mindset is to come back next year trying to fight for the top three places on the grid. »

Honda's spokesperson believes that the Japanese brand was penalized by its delay over other engine manufacturers when it returned to F1 in 2015.

“We don’t think we didn’t take enough risks. We were late in our return to F1 and that was the biggest problem, explained Katsuhide Moriyami. Honda is doing everything possible to reduce it. I think we have been able to achieve this but we know there is still more to do. »

Toro Rosso only scored one podium in 12 seasons in F1 when Sebastian Vettel won the 2008 Italian GP at Monza with the STR3.