Honda: "Today we really got everything out of our package"

"The first ever Qatar Grand Prix turned out to be an exciting race for us, with both Red Bull Racing Honda drivers doing a lot of overtaking. Max, who had an unfortunate grid penalty, immediately moved up the order from starting seventh to get up to second place quite quickly to finish on the podium, while Checo also produced a strong drive to go from eleventh to fourth," Tanabe said for the Milton Keynes-based team.

The Japanese man continued: "Today we really got everything out of our package. In general, this was not an easy weekend for us, but the result was important, as Max still leads the Drivers’ classification and Red Bull has closed the gap to Mercedes in the Constructors."

Week without Formula 1

After a triple-header, everyone gets a week off. But there is no time to sit still, not even for engine supplier Honda. There is still a lot at stake during the last two Grands Prix of the season. "We will work hard with both our teams to see how we can improve our performance for the final two races of the seasons. Finally, congratulations to our former Honda colleague Fernando Alonso on his podium finish. He drove a great race, showing excellent tyre management skills," he concluded.