'Brutally honest' Newey admits RB15 not yet up to par

Red Bull Racing chief technical officer Adrian Newey acknowledged that the team's RB15 chassis has not yet achieved its expected level of performance.

The Milton Keynes-based outfit's strong point has traditionally been its chassis design, thanks in large part to Newey's genius, while its main weakness in recent years has been its engine.

For this year, Red Bull has switched from Renault to Honda power, a choice that initially alarmed the team's fans when it was announced last summer but which has so far proven to be a productive move.

• Narrow operating window of RB15 challenging Red Bull drivers

However, without a strong overall package, Red Bull's efforts to overhaul its Mercedes and Ferrari front-running rivals will remain fruitless.

In Bahrain, RBR team boss Christian Horner described the RB15 chassis as a "tricky" proposition for its drivers, with a narrow operating window, while Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko alluded to the car's rear-end downforce difficulties.

Newey has now also conceded that the team has its work cut out to iron out RB15's issues and improve its relative performance.

"On the chassis side, I'll be brutally honest we haven't got the car as good as we'd like it to be at the moment," the 60-year-old design guru told Sky Sports Natalie Pinkman.

"We just need to get on and do our bit.

"I think that's the nice relationship that we have with Honda that we trust each other to just get on and do our bits and not start flinging mud at each other.

"Culturally, absolutely they are very different but I think as long as you respect that and understand it then it's absolutely fine."

Indeed, in stark contrast to the contentious relationship that dominated the final years of its collaboration with Renault, Red Bull Racing appears to have found a harmonious and balanced partnership with Honda.

More importantly however, the Japanese manufacturer is making great strides on the engineering front, according to Newey.

"Honda are really a breath of fresh air," he said.

"It's actually motivated the whole team having this new relationship with them. They always deliver what they say. No complaints at all there.

"They're not quite at Mercedes or Ferrari level yet, but I have every confidence that they will get there quite quickly. They just instill that confidence."

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