Red Bull figures have been talking up Honda as their new era with the Japanese manufacturer dawns, the likes of Helmut Marko and Max Verstappen confident that they will have a better power unit package than their former engine suppliers Renault.
Marko has been particularly bullish with claims that already his team is already better placed now than they were with Renault power, "Our simulations show that we look much better with the current Honda engine."
Needless to say, Cyril Abiteboul is not buying it, the Renault F1 chief rubbished the claims of their former engine partner, "Honda are 20 kilowatts [about 27 BHP] behind us. I know what Red Bull says, they hide the facts, they manipulate the data."
"I understand that communication strategy but there are no facts. It will be seen that Honda is still behind us and have not suddenly found 20 kilowatts."
Clearly, Honda is not the target as far as the Frenchman is concerned, he has his sights on Mercedes and Ferrari who provide the benchmarks.
Abiteboul revealed to Auto Motor und Sport, "We're missing about 15 to 20 kilowatts of engine power [20-27bhp] in the race, which under certain conditions could be made up for by the Red Bull chassis," Abiteboul told Auto Motor und Sport.
"In qualifying, we estimate our deficit at 40 kilowatts [53 BHP], and that's significant. That's why the main focus at first is on engine development."
"Next year, I don't want to have to say anymore that we lacked too much power in qualifying. There's no reason why we shouldn't close the gap to Mercedes and Ferrari with the engine over the winter," added the Abiteboul.
https://www.grandprix247.com/2018/12/21/marko-mr-abiteboul-can-continue-his-daydreaming/
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