Honda

Max Verstappen says a “very positive" first run in Red Bull’s Honda-powered 2019 Formula 1 car left him “smiling”. 

Red Bull has launched its first-ever Formula 1 car to be powered by Honda ahead of the 2019 season, featuring a dramatic "special edition" livery. 

Pierre Gasly rates new Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen as “probably the most talented” driver on the current Formula 1 grid and feels the pair share a mutual respect with each other.

Toro Rosso has become the second Formula 1 team to launch its 2019 car ahead of the new season.  The Faenza squad’s latest challenger - the STR14 - features a similar blue and red colour scheme to the last two years. 

John McPhee feels he’s been instantly able to adapt back to the Honda Moto3 machine

Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost says his Formula 1 team expects to make a “step in performance” from its closer ties with Red Bull in 2019. 

Honda F1 technical director Toyoharu Tanabe has his role tweaked ahead of providing power units to both Red Bull and Toro Rosso for 2019 with a chief engineer reporting to him from each team.

Andrea Dovizioso feels trying to accurately gauge Honda’s pace at the start of 2019 pre-season testing is impossible due to Marc Marquez and Cal Crutchlow returning from their respective operations while Jorge Lorenzo is out injured.

Cal Crutchlow says his ankle feels “better than expected” when riding his LCR Honda MotoGP bike but concedes when off it he feels “like I’ve been hit by a bus every morning”.

UPDATE: We can now see that the switch does indeed lower the rear of the bike for the race start...

Jorge Lorenzo says he won’t be 100% for his return at the final MotoGP pre-season test in Qatar while he is bracing for tough opening rounds in his Repsol Honda debut campaign.

Marc Marquez has conceded he didn’t think he would be fit enough to ride on the final day of the Sepang MotoGP test after suffering an inflammation to his recently-operated left shoulder.

  Marc Marquez says Honda is working on finding a balance between power and control with its new engine specification at the Sepang MotoGP test but concedes his progress is hampered by his shoulder recovery.

Cal Crutchlow has likened his task at the first MotoGP test of 2019 to “learning to ride again” after the Englishman climbed aboard a motorcycle for the first time since his terrifying first corner fall at Phillip Island 104 days ago.

- Valentino Rossi responds to Yamaha teammate Maverick Vinales’ joke about beating him by saying he hopes to be fighting for the title with the Spaniard come the season-ending showdown in Valencia ( Marca

Marc Marquez’s physiotherapist says “orders” were made to have all of his bikes dismantled so he didn’t get tempted to ride during his shoulder surgery recovery period.

Marc Marquez has thrown his leg over a motorcycle for the first time for almost two months since his left shoulder surgery but says he’s still feeling “problematic” pain after riding a mini bike.

World Superbike technical director Scott Smart has his say on the Jonathan Rea factor, the pros and cons of the shaken-up race weekend format and the changes at Honda.

Having stepped into Honda’s factory team during the 'reign' of his country’s inaugural 500cc world champion Wayne Gardner, five-time world champion Mick Doohan knows a thing or two about competing alongside – not to mention beating and outlasting - a heavyweight team-mate.

Renault remains optimistic the 2019 Formula 1 regulation tweaks could provide it an opportunity to shake-up the pecking order despite the sizeable gap it needs to bridge this winter.

Valentino Rossi’s ranch has inspired Dakar Rally winner Nasser Al-Attiyah to create his own ranch near Barcelona ( Marca )

David Johnson will partner Ian Hutchinson to form the Honda Racing rider line-up for the 2019 International Road Racing season.

Toro Rosso has stolen a march on its Formula 1 rivals by announcing its STR14 car launch date for February 11 th which means the team will be the first to reveal its 2019 challenger.

Unofficial times from day two of the Jerez World Superbike test