Honda: Our engine is 25hp ahead of Renault

Honda claims that its engine output is 25hp ahead as compared to Renault

 

The Japanese manufacturer Honda motorsport boss Yasuhisa Arai claims that their F1 engine output is 25 horsepower ahead of Renault and 40-50hp behind Mercedes.

It has been a troublesome come back to F1 for Honda and their rough season continued when their update for the Belgian Grand Prix fell short of ambitious targets set by Arai.

Arai told AUTOSPORT, “We haven’t caught up to Ferrari yet in terms of the ICE (Internal combustion engine)”.

In comparison to other F1 engine suppliers he said, “40-50(hp) behind Mercedes but about 25 ahead of Renault.”

Arai also explained his future plans and said, “Our engine is a little bit behind Ferrari but much better than the Renault team. Mercedes are still so far away.

“But I have confidence that the second half of the season, we will try hard to catch the top two teams.

“It may be that it will be difficult to catch the top teams as they have good reliability and good combustion characteristics.

“But I want to be close to the top teams by the end of the season.”

When Arai was asked if Honda will insist on the possibility to increase the dimensions next season, Arai said: “No. It will be this package and we will work hard to improve it.”