Horner praises Honda: 'Clear why we are faster'

"Honda have done a great job over the winter. Just look at the configurations over the car. You haven't got to be a rocket scientist to work out they've got a barn door on the back of their car for this race, we had a pretty skinny rear wing. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to work out why we're tentatively quicker on the straights," Christian Horner said during the official press moment of Red Bull.

Exit of Honda a loss for F1

The Red Bull team boss continued: "We're going to be sad to see them leave at the end of the year. They've been a great partner for us to work with. There's still half of the year to go. They've been supportive as we've set up RB power trains. I think that it's been a great relationship and we'll be sad to see them leave F1. It will be a loss for F1 to lose them at the end of the year."

Last year Honda announced that they were leaving Formula 1, partly as a result of the corona crisis. Red Bull has an agreement to take over Honda's engines.

"For the first time in quite a while, we've come out of the blocks this year with a competitive car. We've managed to optimise that and tune it. You're at the top of the curve with these cars. When you look at the new car for next year, it goes to a development cycle. It's significant steps. it's getting that balance right between the marginal gains this year and the big steps for next year. That's no different to how it's been in the past," he finishes.