Tanabe on Honda engine: "It's really designed to be a new power unit"

Honda boss Toyoharu Tanabe is positive about the all new engine the Japanese manufacturer has come up with this season for Red Bull Racing and Alpha Tauri. The Japanese tempered expectations a little, saying that we will only see the speed of the new power unit during qualifying.

Tanabe happy after test in Bahrain

The tests went very well according to Tanabe. "We did a lot of driving with both teams at the time and that produced a lot of data ," the Japanese is quoted as saying by Formule1.nl . "However, we now need to see how we stand in qualifying and the race this weekend."

"We have developed many new parts and a new concept. It is really designed as a new power unit. I'm talking about the combustion engine and the energy recovery system," Tanabe continued.

From Honda to Red Bull

Tanabe is not able to say much about the new engine project from Honda. Both about how much Honda will remain involved and how many people will move from Honda to Red Bull. He explained that he's not involved in those discussions.