Verstappen 'very excited' by Honda partnership
- Published on 25 Oct 2018 14:27
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- By: Fergal Walsh
Max Verstappen says that he is feeling very excited by the upcoming partnership between Red Bull and Honda following the improvements the Japanese manufacturer has made this year.
Honda will become Red Bull's engine supplier in 2019, as the energy drink squad ends its long-standing relationship with Renault. This season, Red Bull's junior team Toro Rosso have been running with Honda engines, and have scored significantly more points than McLaren in 2017.
McLaren previously ran with Honda over the course of three seasons, but the spell, which ran from 2015 to 2017, was a disaster as the team claimed a highest finish in sixth place in 2016. But Verstappen is optimistic after seeing the progress Honda has made.
"Very excited," he replied when asked how he was feeling ahead of the partnership. "They seemed really quick. Now we try to finish off the season in the best way possible and then the whole team is very motivated to start working on next year. The whole team is very upbeat, excited and motivated."
And Verstappen believes that Red Bull has played a part in Honda's developments: "Now they just did they own thing in making the engine, instead of the team telling them how to make the engine. They have got a few people on board as well, different management, so it looks very promising.
"A year ago it was a bit difficult to judge that, but that was always their intention and then you have to wait if they are really going to succeed. But they are definitely heading into the right direction so I'm very happy with that."
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Replies (8)
Login to replytalktohenry
Posts: 362
Feel sorry for Mc Laren the way things have panned out.............
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I wouldnt really. It wasnt meant to be. McLaren just isnt.. Or wasnt... the kinda team to properly utilize a works engine partner, and I think they are better off as a customer. Now they get an engine that has shown that it can win races if in the right car (again, more thanks to Red Bull, but still), and Honda get a partner that get them what they need: less shackles and more data. A happy divorce with a relatively beneficial outcome for both parties involved IMO.
KyalamiKid
Posts: 146
Yaaawn - I m getting a little tired from all these ' I m looking forward ' stories from the RBR camp.
I hope they can fight for the title next season, but stop hyping please
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Indeed. Less talking more walking.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Whats interesting is that Renault and Honda seem to go pretty different paths for next year. While Renault while have a more or less rebuilt PU, Honda will build on their current thing. This could either speak for Honda in that they already have a good thing going and just need to properly hit the lever(!!!!!), or this is Renault finding a faster path to get more performance. Either way, I think we'll see much of the same for next year: Renault vs Honda, might be a bit equal at first, but Renault will stop upgrading earlier. Im not much for hype, but thats a duel Im really looking forward to.
LightIsRight
Posts: 113
He can say what he wants but if you go look at parts consumed in the article a bit further up from this one you might happen to notice Honda has blown through twice as many components as almost any other manufacturer. Oops. And crashstappen has an aggressive style which might make things even worse. Time will tell, let's see how excited he is next year after race 4...
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Used parts dont necessarily mean blown up, e g the parts they took penalties for replacing in the US arent trashed. Woulda been nice having a list of trashed parts though.
KyalamiKid
Posts: 146
They are sacrificing Toro Rosso's season to test for next season - Interview with Marko somewhere on this page explains that. (although Marko didnt call it sacrificing, he said it s beneficial to STR as well... maybe, but not this season)