Honda: 'Reasonable' results in 2019 not 'fantastic'

Honda has enjoyed reasonable results so far in 2018 but still sees a big gap to Mercedes and Ferrari, according to its F1 technical director Toyoharu Tanabe.

Honda secured its first podium finish since its return as a power unit supplier in 2015 at the Australian Grand Prix last month, with Max Verstappen crossing the line in third place.

Red Bull, who is powered by Honda this year for the first time, struggled throughout the weekend in Bahrain, but only just missed out on a podium finish as Charles Leclerc was hit with his own engine issues.

Honda is hoping that it can quickly close down the gap to leaders Mercedes and Ferrari, who have been firmly at the front of the power unit grid for the last two seasons. 

"So far we have started this season with reasonable performance and reasonable results," Tanabe said. "But reasonable doesn't mean fantastic, and we see clearly there is still a big gap to the top [teams] and us.

"We really need to push to improve our performance, to compete [against] our competitors. We understand it is not easy to improve the performance immediately, but we'll keep pushing."

When pushed to give a number regarding the gap to Ferrari and Mercedes, Tanabe replied: "I won't tell you a specific number, but you can see the gap on the track."

Honda is supplying two teams for the first time in the turbo hybrid era this year, as it makes the step up to Red Bul having spent the 2018 campaign with its junior squad Toro Rosso.

Tanabe says that having the extra two cars is very beneficial for Honda, as it receives double the data it used to. 

"We can get double the data from two teams compared to one, and then there are some differences in the team's philosophy, and way of working," Tanabe stated.

"Not only twice, but more than twice we can receive information, and we have four different drivers with different characteristics of driving. It's very hard to tell, but two teams is definitely helping our development."