Pierre Gasly believes Honda does have the ability to close the engine gap to Mercedes and Ferrari but will require some time to do so.
The Frenchman is at somewhat of an advantage heading into 2019 after a year with Toro Rosso using the Japanese manufacturer before both step up to Red Bull next season.
Having seen the rapid progress that Honda has made this year, Gasly isn’t quite sharing the same optimism as his bosses but is optimistic about the project.
“There is at the moment still a deficit with Mercedes and Ferrari engines, and I think it puts us with Renault in a bit more difficult situation,” the Frenchman was quoted by F1i.com.
“We know where we lack performance at the moment, they know it, they are really objective about it, and I know they are doing everything they can ahead of next year, testing things.
“I’m sure we’re going to get some updates for next year, not for the last race in Abu Dhabi but they are really pushing hard, so I believe for next year they will have another step.
“You can’t recover the delta within a few weeks or a few months. You need to give them time as well.”
As for how long he feels Honda might need, Gasly concedes it’s impossible to tell.
“Sometimes you have only a few steps for months, and then you have a breakthrough and suddenly it is four tenths on the simulation,” he said.
“I think Honda has already caught up most of the gap, but I do not expect them to be on par with the other engines at the start of the 2019 season. But they will reach that level.
“Honda is investing a lot and developing very intensively.”
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For Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, however, any extra performance that is above and beyond Renault is more than welcome after another tough season just out of the reach of the leaders.
“We have a phenomenal team which can create a great car. As soon as we can get that little bit more horsepower, which it looks like Honda are delivering, then hopefully we can give them a hard time at every circuit,” said the Briton.
“We have had a great car through this year. Our problem has been qualifying and straight-line performance. If we manage to address that, and all the numbers are looking encouraging, then it puts us in a stronger position.”