Tost doesn't expect major changes after Honda departure: 'Fantastic job'

AlphaTauri team boss Franz Tost doesn't believe much will change now that Honda have left Formula One. Tost's team and Red Bull Racing are now responsible for developing their engine themselves, although they will still receive support from the Japanese company.

The team presented the new car, which no longer has the Honda logo on it, at noon on Monday 14 February. Tost is confident in the performance level of the engine, which in many ways is a continuation of last season's Honda engine.

According to the team boss, the biggest change to the engine lies with the fuel. From 2026, Formula 1 wants to switch to fully sustainable fuels, but for now the sport is taking small steps. The switch from E5 to E10 fuel caused extra time in development.

"I don’t expect any major changes. I hope that the performance is as good as it was last year, as Honda did a fantastic job there. The bigger change is the fuel the Power Unit uses, which from this year sees the bio-component ration increase to 10%. That has required some investigation time and some modifications to the PU, and I hope that the performance level will be the same, to have as powerful a PU as we had last year from Honda", the team boss said in an official press release.