Added on June 7, 2018  The News Wheel   , , , , , , ,
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Honda President ‘Cried’ After Bahrain GP Result

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Pierre Gasly, one of the two Formula One drivers for Toro Rosso, says the Honda president cried when the racing team managed a 4th place finish at the 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix.

The French driver believes that positivity is the key to progress with the Japanese manufacturer, which has had a tough three years with McLaren since its return to the sport.

“It’s a completely different culture from ours in Europe,” Gasly said. “In terms of communication, you have to tell them things a certain way. It helps me with Japanese engineers.”

Gasly developed a good relationship with Honda while racing in Super Formula. During the 2017 season he was the only Honda driver in the top eight and nearly cinched the title.

He believes the company’s commitment to Formula One is evident from how Honda has reacted to the strong result in Bahrain with Toro Rosso, which outdid anything it had managed with McLaren, who had been notoriously negative about the manufacturer.

“This year, with Bahrain, the president of Honda cried, and Japanese people don’t cry so often!” Gasly said. “The vice-president was in Monaco. They’re really happy, for sure.”

Though Gasly has no illusions that the Honda power unit has room to be improved, he has faith the Japanese company will pull through, especially if the positive relationship with Toro Rosso continues.

“Toro Rosso is also trying their best to have a very good communication with them, because we know that’s what we need if we want to make progress. So far, the reliability has been a lot better than last year.”

“In terms of performance, they are making progress. We are still behind, but they are doing everything they can to catch the others. Hopefully we will catch them soon. At the moment, it’s going well.”