Tost: Honda ahead of Renault after new upgrades

Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost believes that the new Honda upgrades introduced in Russia have put the Japanese manufacturer ahead of Renault in the engine battle. Honda introduced a new upgrade in Sochi on Friday but reverted back to an old specification engine for the race.

Speaking to Autosport, Tost explained that the new upgrade had been a huge success and that the power units from Honda were finally ahead of Renault.

"Honda is making big steps forward. Yesterday we had the new spec in the car and it was really fantastic.

"We had it in the car yesterday, but we have to start from the back of the grid and then we decided we go back to spec 2 just to save some mileage and to make some fine-tuning.

"In Suzuka we will have it."

Honda had introduced new components to their internal combustion engine as well as other smaller upgrades elsewhere in the power unit. Red Bull will be switching to Honda power next year and after a very public argument between Max Verstappen and Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul, Red Bull will be hoping the new upgrade has indeed put Honda ahead.