Tanabe looks forward to Grand Prix: 'Similar weather during race'

With Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez and even Pierre Gasly in the top ten after qualifying, Honda can look back on their Saturday in Belgium with satisfaction. According to technical director Toyoharu Tanabe, both Red Bull and AlphaTauri have performed optimally today.

In an official press release from Honda, Tanabe commented on the Spa-Francorchamps qualifying session as follows: "Max did a brilliant job in the difficult and changing conditions to secure his sixth pole of the season. It was nice to achieve this for Honda’s 50th race in partnership with Red Bull Racing. In today’s changing conditions, both our teams did a very good job of managing the sessions, choosing the right moment to send the drivers out on track."

The technical director is also pleased with Alphatauri's performance. Tanabe: "With Checo seventh and Pierre Gasly securing yet another sixth place for Scuderia AlphaTauri, we can be pleased to have three cars in the top seven on the grid. Yuki lacked a bit of pace today, but even from 17th on the grid, he can have a good race tomorrow as it’s a long race and overtaking is possible."

As the weather forecasts now look, Sunday's Grand Prix will be run in mostly the same conditions as today. This makes the race in Belgium a promising one for Tanabe. "It seems the weather for the race could be similar to today’s, so we will now analyse our data and prepare for whatever situation arises", concludes the technical director.