Honda sets sights on ‘top three’ with STR

Honda's chief officer of brand and communications operations Katsuhide Moriyami has revealed an ambitious target with Toro Rosso after a day of key engine announcements.

Moriyami stated that Honda never had any intention of leaving Formula 1 no matter how strained their relationship got with McLaren, who will now be powered by Renault next season.

2018 will also see Toro Rosso enter into a 'multi-year agreement' with Honda as their engine supplier and they have set some very lofty ambitions

"For Honda, F1 started with the dream of our founder, Soichiro Honda, and we have a history of more than 50 years of F1," said Moriyami in the FIA press conference. "F1 is a very important culture and DNA of our company.

"It is true that we have gone through a tough situation now and nobody was satisfied with the current results, especially the board.

"We have gone through many discussions but quitting F1 was never an option for us.

"It is our goal to overcome this tough challenge and get back to fighting the frontrunners of the sport, and Honda’s spirit is to come back and next year our goal is to fight for the top three at the top of the grid."