Pierre Gasly is confident Honda will be able to find “another 🐈s♈tep” in engine performance heading into the 2019 Formula 1 season.

The Japanese engine manufacturer has recovered from its torrid return to F1 with McLaren and has made promising gains with new customer Toro Rosso in 2018, leading 🎀Red Bull to switch from Renault to Honda power units from next season.

While Gasly, who will graduate to the Red Bull senior team as Daniel Ricciardo’s replacement in 2019, believes Honda still has work to do to catch current F1 engine benchmarks Mercedes and Ferrari🌸, he is encouraged by the progress he has ꦉseen.

“There is at the moment still a defici🔥t with Mercedes and Ferrari engines, and I think it puts us [Honda] with Renault in a bit more difficult situ𒁏ation,” Gasly explained.

“I know that is what they are doing at the moment [working to catch up], s🍒o there is nothing more we can do.

“We know where we lack performance at the moment, they know it, they are really objective about it, and I know they are doing everything they ♓can ahead of next year, testing things.

“I’m sure we’re going to get some updates for next year, not for the last race in Abu Dhabi but they are really pushing hard, so I believe for next year they will have anotheဣr step.

“You cꦇan’t recover the delta within a few weeks or a few months. You need to give them time as well.”

Honda’s step forward in both performance and reliability led Max Verstappen to insist Red Bull’s data shows it is 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:“not lying” about the potential of the Japanౠese manufacturer’s power unit, ahead of beginning its new partnership.

Asked when he feels Honda will close the gap🍬 to Mercedes and Ferrari, Gasly replied: “It’s really tough to answer, because the𓆏 development I would say is never consistent.

“Sometimes you don’t find anything for eight mon✨ths, and then you try something on the dyno that works and you find four-tenths suddenly. So it’s not like a consistent development.

“Maybe mid-December, they will find 𒀰something that will give them five-te𝐆nths and put us in a better position. It’s too difficult to answer.

“I thi🌜nk ෴now they clearly caught, not completely, but recovered a big part of the deficit,” he added.

“There is still one tha♕t I don’t expect them to recover straight at the beginning of next year, but at some point.

“I know they are investing a lot and developing a lot, so I expect them to get closer and closer, but I don’t know when they will ma🐓tch them completely.”