Gasly happy with Honda: "But seen that Mercedes also has very strong engine"

Pierre Gasly has once again expressed his satisfaction with the new Honda engine in his AT02. The Frenchman is happy with the extra engine power compared to 2020 and for the time being reliability seems to be in order as well. It is causing euphoria on the part of AlphaTauri.

"So far we are really happy," Gasly replied when asked by Formula 1 about his findings on the 2021 Honda engine. On an engine level at least, the winter tests could not have gone better. "It’s a step forward compared to last year, reliability has been perfect all three days so far, so really positive on this side."

Mercedes also competitive

So although things are looking very good, the 25-year-old driver is guarding against too much optimism. After all, he doesn't know exactly how Mercedes is doing. "But we saw Mercedes have a very strong engine. They showed it with McLaren and Williams, and you can see that they have a lot of potential. I don’t want to get too excited before we get to qualifying [in Bahrain], and then I think we’ll get the full picture in two weeks."

Next week the Formula One season begins in Bahrain. A total of 23 Grands Prix will be run in 2021, provided the coronavirus situation allows.