Earlier this week, Honda's technical director, Toyoharu Tanabe revealed that the Japanese manufacturer is to introduce its second upgrade of the year, just week after the first was introduced in Azerbaijan.

"The changes to the previous specification are mainly around the ICE and the turbocharger," he confirmed. "In producing this power unit, we have updated the turbocharger thanks to the knowledge and technology of the aero engine department in the area of aerodynamic design, working alongside turbocharger manufacturer IHI.

"Our test bench data shows a power increase over the previous version of our PU," he added, "however we know that we have not yet matched the figures from the manufacturers currently leading the championship.

"But it's a step in the right direction," he insisted, "and we will continue our development throughout the rest of the season, calling on the resources of the whole company."

Speaking to reporters at Paul Ricard however, Pierre Gasly appeared keen to play down expectations.

"The last (upgrade) was more on the reliability side," he told reporters, "this one will be a bit more focused on the performance.

"We don't expect a massive gain from it," he admitted. "I think the overall performance will be slightly increased but it's not like it's going to change massively.

"Let's see what we can do during the weekend which will give us a bit more in the race, but it's not going to be a massive difference in qualifying."

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