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"We'll have to see how it goes," Key told RACER about the visual impact of the Halo. "I think with the aero bits on it then it will look slightly more Formula 1, let's say, than the frames we saw before. They will be a little bit more refined visually, because teams have had time to work a bit on optimizing the aerodynamics around them.
"But my gut feeling is it's something we'll just get used to. There will be talk and all sorts of opinions I'm sure – all of them no doubt valid – but I think ultimately it's just something we'll get used to, and we'll get back to worrying about the racing pretty quickly."
With Toro Rosso having passed all of its mandatory crash tests last week – meaning its car is homologated for pre-season testing – Key admits the addition of the Halo made the tests a bigger challenge this year.
"I think it was harder for two reasons, really," he said. "One is that it is a new test and so there's always some unknowns, there's no historic reference you can take with something as new and very different as the Halo tests compared to before. And also because they're quite tough tests, as well. Clearly this has to be a very robust frame around the driver, and that requires some quote heavy loading and tricky conditions applied to it to make sure it complies.
"It was certainly quite a new test and new set of requirements to take on board for chassis design, and obviously everyone's a little nervous the first time you try it, but I'm glad to say it worked as planned."
https://www.racer.com/f1/item/146883-to ... ore-f1-key
Toro Rosso's 2018 Formula 1 challenger will hit the track for the first time on February 21 when it completes a filming day at Misano.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/13403 ... -at-misano
[media]https://twitter.com/HondaRacingF1/statu ... 1291973632[/media]"Honda are excellent to work with, I have to say. We've shared an extremely strong common goal and a very good working relationship to date, and there's no reason why that won't continue in exactly the same way."
Key also warned against writing off the Toro Rosso-Honda partnership on the basis of their recent history, saying that he has faith in the work that both sides have been doing to recover from a disappointing 2017.
"I think the really good thing with how we're working is that we're very transparent with each other, so if we do have a concern or an issue, then we always highlight it. Honda have been very honest about the problems they had last year, for example, and have said how they got around them. We've done the same, so it's been a really open discussion on how we can achieve our goals, but with all the data and all the resource to back it up as well.
"So I think it's been an excellent experience. It's been hard work because it's a big responsibility, being the only team that's working with a company as big and important as Honda, but I think the way we've done it and the way we're working at the moment has been very positive.
"So I'd like to think we can spring a few surprises this year. There's obviously a lot of questions and you never know until you hit the track, but certainly on the Honda side they're working extremely hard and they're hoping to start off in a positive way."
https://www.racer.com/f1/item/146930-ke ... with-honda
Doesn't necessarily mean they are keeping the livery. No mention of the new team name Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda in the graphics so who knows. I do agree that more white would be nice.
Toro Rosso can fight for fourth in 2018
Asked about the challenge of setting targets for his team in 2018 before it has done any running with Honda, Tost told RACER: "It's difficult.
"We must be within the top five once more, it's the same story as in 2017. Look, the first three positions are gone, forget it, this is another league and another world because they have much bigger financial resources and are much bigger teams. But then from position four onwards, everything is possible because Force India is running with a similar budget to us, Williams as well.
"I expect that McLaren will become quite competitive as well and Renault will make a step forwards, but it means from fourth position onwards everything is possible. Once more we have to build a good car, a competitive car, and we have the ingredients together to fight for a successful position."
With the competitiveness of McLaren and Renault difficult to gauge, Tost says there is nothing significant that Toro Rosso is lacking in order to be able to be ahead of Williams and Force India based on their resources over the past few years.
"Regarding Williams and Force India at this stage – I don't know what they will achieve this winter and they might suddenly find £100million (just over $141 million) in sponsorship – we are working at a similar level and there shouldn't be any excuses from our side not to be close to them. To beat them is another question, but to be up there."
http://www.racer.com/f1/item/147102-tor ... -2018-tost
