Honda 'surprised' by Mercedes' engine progress

Indisputable engine reference since the introduction of V6 turbo hybrids in 2014, Mercedes had been caught up by its rivals in recent years, or even overtaken by Ferrari last year.

Annoyed and pushed to its limits by the Scuderia, the German manufacturer worked hard to close a gap which disappeared at the same time as the engine advantage enjoyed by Ferrari.

The beneficial effect is twofold for Mercedes, which regains control over the engine almost similar to the hegemony observed during the first years of the hybrid era. 

« I must admit that I am surprised by the progress they have made between last year and this season, conceded Toyoharu Tanabe, Honda technical director F1. We dissect the areas where they are ahead of us. It's not easy but we are trying to catch up with them, both in qualifying mode and in race configuration. We are working hard with our engineers in Japan and abroad. Milton Keynes (United Kingdom) ". 

Tanabe-san also confirmed that Honda officials and those of its customer teams Red Bull and Alpha Tauri spoke between the Hungarian and British Grands Prix. 

« It was a good time to review the first 3 races of the seasonn, explained the Japanese engineer. We talked about the performance, the lessons learned from the start of the year, and discussed our strategy for the Grands Prix to come. We do not yet know the exact number of races that there will be this season so we have thought about how to best use the thrusters in these circumstances. ». 

Honda is officially committed to Red Bull and AlphaTauri until 2021.