Tost: Honda upgrade means Toro Rosso 'must reach' Q3

Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost is putting the pressure on his drivers, insisting a spot in Q3 on Saturday must be achieved following the team's adoption of Honda's improved Spec-3 engine.

The updated unit was introduced in a practice session at last weekend's Russian Grand Prix, and Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley reported back with a positive view on the engine's performance.

However, a will to perfect the Honda's integration with the STR13 chassis prompted Toro Rosso to keep the engine under wraps for the remainder of the Sochi weekend, but it will be used in all sessions at Suzuka.

The Faenza-based squad is currently under pressure from Sauber in the Constructors' standings, with the performance of the Swiss outfit's C37 having vastly improved in recent months.

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For Tost, the Honda update will hopefully provide a welcome boost to help the team hold its own in the championship.

"With the Spec 3 engine we must be in Q3. We must be ahead of Sauber because they have put a lot of pressure on us in the constructors’ championship," acknowledged Tost.

Honda motorsport boss Masashi Yamamoto had hoped for an earlier introduction of the Spec-3 unit, but performance and reliability necessities slightly delayed its debut.

"We were not as quick in the development as we would have wanted to be," said Yamamoto.

"Recently, everything has been much better, especially regarding the combustion chamber.

"We have upgraded it and finally it is successfully complete. The problems we had with the other engine was related to calibrations.

"We have fixed it since Russia, within this one week for Suzuka. I suppose Mr Tost can look forwards to a great weekend."

Last week, Red Bull's Max Verstappen claimed that Honda's efforts had now put its engine on a par with Renault, but Yamamoto was reluctant to make any comparisons.

"Spec 3, which we brought in Russia, obviously hasn’t raced yet so this is the first opportunity here," he said.

"It will be more comparable with the other engines we have used before [after the race]. Not only the engine, but the entire performance with the car."

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