Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost believes the newly-aligned Red Bull-Honda operation will be able to contend for Formula 1 wins in 2019.
Honda returned to Formula 1 with McLaren in 2015 but endured a fraught three-year partnership amid reliability and performance setbacks.
Honda aligned with Toro Rosso for 2018, taking a best race result of fourth, and ran competitively in the midfield, as Red Bull signed a deal to use its engines for 2019.
Honda spent much of 2018 ramping up development in anticipation of its new partnership with Red Bull, prompting hope that the squad can fight at the front of the pack this year.
“I must say all expectations I put into them they have delivered,” said Tost on Honda.
“I’m quite sure that they will close the gap to the top teams and that Red Bull Racing will be able to win races with them and that we will also gain a lot of advantages out of this cooperation.”
Tost’s Toro Rosso squad will continue to use Honda power in 2019 and expects this season to be smoother, courtesy of a year’s worth of experience.
“If you look at the car, how the power unit is integrated, then it’s a big step forward,” Tost said, comparing the STR14 to the STR13.
“Also how the boxes are in the car designed. I must say it was a big step from the engineering side because we had much more time.
“There was really good cooperation with Honda and also Red Bull Technology. Therefore I think from this side, we are quite well organised.”
