Toro Rosso decision to opt for Honda had seemed “totally crazy” to competitors. But timely decision and the power plant providers performance has been in spotlight of F1 circles.
Japanese firm was deprived of contract renewal by McLaren, which had decided to switch to Renault rather than Honda as they struggled with the current Engine performances on F1 tracks. But Toro Rosso opted for the exact opposite as they switched from Renault to Honda despite Honda’s reliability issues.
Honda partnered with Toro Rosso produced best results since their re-entry to F1 in 2015. The engine manufacturer convinced the Italian team, Red Bull, to join hands for their junior team in next season.
“Honda was a highlight for us,” Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost told Autosport. “You remember what last year, at this stage, other teams said about Honda.
“I remember meeting some people here and they said ‘you must be totally crazy, we wish you all the best for next year’.
“I said ‘yes, we will have a good season, you will see, we will be in front of you’.
“They thought that maybe I am totally crazy, but I was convinced that Honda is the right decision to go with.”
Red Bull evaluated both engines this year and placed Honda above the Renault for the first time as an engine manufacturer. They believed that Honda has elevated their performance.
Tost expressed about the Japanese firm gains over Renault and was satisfied that they have outperformed the expectations of many people.
“The Honda engine last year was already much better than other people said,” Tost claimed.
“During the winter months Honda and Toro Rosso worked really hard, we were at the dynos in Milton Keynes, we were at the dynos in Sakura.
“There was a very close cooperation, and Honda could improve reliability as well as the performance.”
Honda introduced engines were tested on Toro Rosso platform in 2018. Multiple replacements of the engines put Toro Rosso with top numbers of engine changes. The manufacturer introduced third power plant in the second half of the 2018 season.
Tost stated that it was expected that the manufacturer won’t be able to meet the F1 limit of engine introduction in a season. Therefore, at the end of the season the team was encourage to exploit the opportunity and recommended to make changes as much as necessary for better development of their program in 2019.
“It was clear for me that during the season we will not finish the season with three engines,” said Tost.
“But the last changes of the engines was more or less the wish from our side.
“I see this season as a preparation for next year. This year is gone for us. Forget it.”
