F1 News
Honda are closing the gap says Horner
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes that engine supplier Honda are ‘closing the gap’ to Ferrari and Mercedes.
Honda won their first race in thirteen years at the Austrian Grand Prix courtesy of Max Verstappen and Red Bull.
But the Japanese manufacturer endured a torrid time while they were partnered with McLaren for a few seasons before splitting and teaming up with Toro Rosso, proving themselves enough to Red Bull.
Horner believes there are still improvements that can be made but the engine manufacturers are getting closer to Mercedes and Ferrari.
“I think there is still time to find but they are doing a good job and they are definitely closing the gap,” Horner said (quoted by Crash.net).
“We’ve got a lot of racing to do before we get to that point.
“If we were to introduce a new engine it would be around the Spa-Monza timing.
“Monza historically has been a good place for us to introduce engine penalties.”
Horner is happy to have gotten Silverstone out the way as it is one of the most power demanding circuits, looking ahead to Hockenheim and Hungary.
“This [Silverstone], after Monza, is one of the most power-sensitive circuits on the calendar, you are flat out on the lap here for pretty much the entirety of the lap," Horner added.
“So that’s encouraging for us, and certainly for a track like Hockenheim which is less power-sensitive than here.
“Hungary is a track we have always performed well at. Hopefully we can have a strong car there.”
