Honda want to ‘move ahead’ of Renault

Editor

Honda motorsport chief Yusuke Hasegawa has Renault in his sights as the Japanese manufacturer aim for more improvement after the summer break.

Honda have been at the bottom of pack, behind Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault power since joining forces with McLaren, but Hasegawa has reason to believe they can move up one rung of the Formula 1 ladder.

“I think we can keep the same ratio of the increasing of the power but it is difficult to catch up Mercedes or Ferrari,” Hasegawa told Motorsport.com.

“I really want to move ahead of Renault in terms of performance before the end of the season.”

When asked if that was a realistic possibility, he replied: “Yes, I can see that on the data. I will not tell you the number, but we are closing the gap.”

While Hasegawa has noticed improvement with their 'Spec-3' engine, which was first introduced at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the feedback from the drivers following the Hungarian Grand Prix was still not very positive.

“The drivability was OK but still the drivers highlighted a lack of power," he added.

“They are very confident with the car, which is good, but it is still difficult to challenge the top three teams.”