Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Monaco, 2018

Verstappen excited by Red Bull-Honda deal after factory visit

2019 F1 season

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Max Verstappen says he is excited by Red Bull’s switch to Honda power for the 2019 F1 season having visited the Japanese manufacturer’s engine development facility.

However the 20-year-old said he was not involved in the team’s decision to change engine suppliers for next year.

Verstappen visited Honda Sakura factory last year. “It looked very nice the facility,” he said. “It was good to walk around to see the difference between Honda and Renault factory.

“It was quite impressive how they build up all the facilities, the dynos and stuff. It looked efficient, it was a nice day.”

Red Bull confirmed on Tuesday it will use Honda power for the next two seasons. Verstappen cited the performance of Honda’s power unit upgrade at the last races as evidence of the progress they have made.

“Looking at the performance they showed this year, the improvements they made, especially in Canada again, it looked all very positive,” he said. “They keep developing, they keep putting people in the right places.”

“I believe in it and the team clearly believes in it because they signed the deal,” he added. “And it’s exciting as well. You have basically Honda working for Red Bull and Toro Rosso only so it’s purely designed around your car, that also is very good.”

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2018 F1 season

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8 comments on “Verstappen excited by Red Bull-Honda deal after factory visit”

  1. Well… it’s not like he has a choice. Better to put a positive spin on this than to reality-check things. For example, RB has been whining for years to Renault about their PU, lack of quali modes, and lack of power compared to Ferrari. So they turn to Honda, which have the worst PU in F1. Is not yet very reliable, and is the least powerful. This supposed step forward in Canada is pure PR. They speed trap? Yeah… anyone can get to the top with very low downforce. It was quite obvious that’s what TR did. You can also see how well they qualified. RB will be on the back foot next year, so better to at least keep people motivated at RB.

    1. Not sure if sarcasm or real.

      They speed trap? Yeah… anyone can get to the top with very low downforce
      RB will be on the back foot next year, so better to at least keep people motivated at RB.

      Ummm ya, Sarcasm. Got it :)

      1. sumedh, I guess that what ajpennypacker is referring to is the fact that, if you look at the intermediate speed trap figures from the qualifying sessions and in the race for the Canadian GP, where the DRS system was not active, the speed trap figures for the Toro Rosso drivers are significantly less competitive – only 16th fastest at the first intermediate split sector, for example.

        Some might have therefore taken that as a sign that Toro Rosso were running a comparatively lower downforce set up than their rivals to maximise their performance on the back straight, whilst also taking advantage of the fact that their Mercedes powered rivals were hampered by having to run old engines whilst Toro Rosso had brand new engines (the difference in wear would potentially give a more favourable impression as a result).

        1. Reason I said sarcasm is the two points – purposely running low downforce and lying to press to keep morale high – are exactly opposite of the things that McLaren was accused of doing for last 3 years.

  2. Should be very interesting. RBR is not STR nor McLaren, so they’ll get to put their twist in the plot. They’ll be putting in a Honda Pu that will I assume be at least a notch or two above what they just brought out for Canada, and so let’s see what magic Newey et al can perform around said unit once they get their hands on one.

    1. I think RB has already a engine to play with for design.

  3. Did he think the engine was like a jewel like when Ron said it was. This will work better though as Honda are working with a top team. Honda are currently moving up the grid, now with upper midfield Torro Rosso from the lower midfield / back marker amateur McLaren team. Now with a team who likely really have the best chassis as opposed to the lie peddled by their former joke partners.

  4. Yeah so true.

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