Max Verstappen is not concerned about engine penalties if Honda is bringing upgrades.
This weekend in Azerbaijan, the Japanese manufacturer will introduce an improved internal combustion engine, the second of three permitted all season.
Should Honda follow a traditional path of further updates in Canada, Spa or Monza and Suzuka, it would mean at least two races where the Dutchman would have to come through the field.
“Actually I’m really happy because they keep pushing really hard to bring updates and that’s always good,” Verstappen said on Thursday, having been much less tolerant with former supplier Renault.
“I think I showed last year than even when you start in the back you can still finish on the podium, for example in Austin, so I don’t think it a major problem.
“I’m happier if we can say at the end of the season that we really closed the gap to Mercedes and Ferrari in terms of power because we used a few more engines. It’s fine.”
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In terms of the type of upgrade Honda has brought for Baku, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has confessed a claim of 20 more horsepower was wide of the mark.
However, Max is encouraged at improvements in other areas.
“It’s mainly just about reliability, so I guess it will be a little bit better in terms of performance but like nothing massive,” Verstappen noted.
“It can always be better. That’s why they push for an even better engine concept. I’m happy that they did it because hopefully, we can run that engine a little bit longer compared to the first one, which we can still use.”