F1 News

Toyoharu Tanabe happy with a podium but wants to achieve more

Toyoharu Tanabe happy with a podium but wants to achieve more

18-03-2019 17:34
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Honda seem to be relieved that they have achieved podium success so early in the season as they believe that has released some pressure. However, they have made it clear that they want to achieve more and challenge for the championship this season. 

When asked if the Red Bull Honda relationship has benefited from getting an early podium Toyoharu Tanabe said, "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. 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]. 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."

Red Bull will hope that Honda retains their pace for the next race in Bahrain and that they can be real contenders for the championship this season.