Honda, engine partner of Red Bull Formula 1 team, is happy with its progress.
Christian Horner, Red Bull Team Principal, says the engine provider has made stupendous progress. He went on saying that they are looking forward to find a break through this season.
In 2019, Red Bull and Honda partnered while the former saying good bye to Renault. Max Verstappen took the lead of this partnership and managed himself at the top of podium while using Japanese engine.
Honda engine had failed to win any race since 2006 which was made possible by its new partnership.
Verstappen skills aligned with new power unit enabled the team to find three victories last season.
This partnership not only riped victories but also enabled Red Bull driver to stand third on drivers championship standing at the end of the season.
This partnership also helped Honda to stood tall in F1 since its return to the sport in 2015.
Horner was positive about the new engine developments of Honda.
“They look quite happy,” Horner said. “The engine made constant progress throughout last year. This latest engine is the next step in that evolution.
“They’ve done plenty of mileage on their dynos. We’ve obviously been working very closely with them and the integration of the engine into the chassis.
“They share that motivation and desire of competitiveness and to really build on the three wins that they achieved last year, and all the other stuff that came with it.
“They’re very, very focused on making that next step. The turnaround that they’ve achieved has been phenomenal, when you consider where they were five years ago to where they are now. That’s hugely impressive.”
Honda struggled to find the right solution during 2015 to 2017. McLaren was struck with its progress during the tenure due to engine reliability issues.
However, Honda paved its way to current partnership with Red Bull through an engagement with Toro Rosso during 2018.
Honda closes its gap against its rival engine manufacturers Mercedes and Ferrari during 2019. It helped Red Bull to go head to head with other teams and threatened their dominance.
Verstappen & Honda
Verstappen, who was major beneficiary, had his expectations met during last season. He is hopeful that Honda will meet his expectations this year again.
“I was really excited to start working together, and I haven’t been disappointed. I really enjoy it,” Verstappen said.
“They’re very focused and I think the steps they made throughout the season were very good. Of course as a driver you always want more, but they’re the same: they always want more.
“And I think towards the end of the year, it looked very competitive. I think we were pretty close to Mercedes, as you can see, Brazil for example, the drag race between Pierre [Gasly] and Lewis [Hamilton].
“With Ferrari, I don’t know. I think there’s still a bit ahead of us. But I think throughout the winter now, [Honda] made some really good steps.
“We’ll find out what the others have done, because they will also improve, and I hope we made bigger steps than them.”
