Honda chief cautious: 'Challenge to use only three engines'

With pole position and second place, Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing had a better start to the season than ever before. Partly due to the new Honda engine. Technical director Toyoharu Tanabe of Honda is very satisfied.

On the Japanese Auto Sport Web Tanabe looks back on the Bahrain Grand Prix. "It's a shame we missed out on victory, but on the other hand we were able to fight for it from start to finish. I think we put in a good performance."

Tanabe is also very pleased with the performance of Japanese rookie Yuki Tsunoda. "At the start he slipped a bit, but managed to finish ninth after a few nice overtakes. I think he has learned a lot this weekend."

Red Bull Racing's new Honda engine clearly provides more power than last year. "If you compare the power with last year's Mercedes, you can say it's better this year," he said. Tanabe also says the new engine seems to be helping to improve aerodynamic performance. "[Adrian] Newey was very happy with our contribution to the development of the car's chassis."

In qualifying, Hamilton had to concede almost four tenths to Verstappen, but Tanabe has no thoughts of slowing down with the engine. "I do want to think about the different characteristics of each race and adjust the engine accordingly. It's still a challenge to be able to use only three engines for 23 races."