Honda has explained what they think is the main reason for Mercedes and Ferrari’s ability to remain ahead of the rest in the engine performance stakes.
The Japanese manufacturer started to make significant progress with their own unit during 2018, but still expect to be around 25 kilowatts down on the benchmark set by their German and Italian rivals.
Laying out Honda’s target for this year, as they prepare to supply both Toro Rosso and Red Bull, Masashi Yamamoto admitted their main focus was on the comparison to Renault.
“We will make a big effort during the winter, and at least, we would like to start from third within the manufacturers, then try to catch the frontrunners up during the season,” he told Motorsport.com.
Refusing to set out a timeline for making up the ground on the top two, it was then the Honda chief revealed what he considers their key ability.
“Mercedes and Ferrari have loads of knowledge of the grey areas [in the rules], so they are still ahead of us,” he said.
“But after four years of our development and trying, we think we are now finding the right direction and where to go – much clearer than last year, or two years ago.
“So we think we can speed up our development.”
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The point of pushing the limit of the regulations is very valid with the FIA clamping down on the burning of oil as fuel for extra performance in recent years, something Mercedes & Ferrari have done much more than Honda or Renault.
For much of last season, the legality of Ferrari’s ERS was also questioned with a unique battery layout raising claims of exceeding power output and the amount of energy allowed to be stored.