Toro Rosso defends Honda

Franz Tost defends Honda amid rumours they are not up to the task of powering Red Bull in 2019.

Tost is the team boss at Toro Rosso, who are Red Bull's 'sister' team and they have used Honda's engines this year.

The Toro Rosso boss has defended the Japanese manufacturer after they have been questioned about whether they can take Red Bull forward in the foreseeable future.

"I've never had problems with Honda," Tost told Orf.

"I don't know what McLaren's experience was, but the engines are not as bad as what we heard.

"The engine is good enough and we are working with them to improve it."

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has also defended Honda's engines and says he is not worried about Red Bull potentially a making a bad move as they parted company with their engine supplier Renault recently.

"There is still half a year and Honda will work hard in that time," the 20-year-old Dutchman said.

"It's better if there are problems now than next year, but I think they've taken big performance steps. They are not slower than Renault anymore."

Verstappen was also all for Red Bull's full works status next season.

"Normally that's always better, yes," Verstappen added.

"You can get an update at every race. At Renault everything went to the factory team first and only one or two races later we got something. It's a pity, but understandable."