Horner explains Red Bull’s Honda switch

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says Honda’s “enormous potential” ahead of doubling its efforts in Formula 1 gives him faith in the switch to the Japanese manufacturer for 2019.

Red Bull officially confirmed it will change to Honda power from next season, ending its 12-year partnership with Renault, which sees it align with sister squad Toro Rosso who made the move last year.

While Red Bull’s relationship with Renault has been fractious during the V6 Hybrid era the team has enjoyed notable improvements in the past 12 months with Daniel Ricciardo securing two wins from the opening seven rounds of the 2018 Formula 1 campaign and tipped as a possible title challenger.

Both Renault and Honda introduced its first in-season engine updates at the last race in Canada where Horner was eager to assess its options by stating a formal decision would be made by the Austrian Grand Prix later this month as the team wanted two races to measure the improvements from each manufacturer.

But the key decision has been confirmed ahead of the French Grand Prix with Horner pointing to the capability of sharing vital engine data with sister squad Toro Rosso which will mutually benefit all parties.

“Honda’s alignment with both Red Bull Formula 1 teams provides enormous potential,” Horner said. “Honda will have access to a wealth of data from both outfits, with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing leading the way, and the opportunities for faster, more effective and more competitive development are doubled.

“We have been impressed by Honda’s commitment to F1, by the rapid steps they have made in recent times with our sister team Toro Rosso, and by the scope of their ambition, which matches our own.”

Horner has also paid tribute to Renault having won four consecutive F1 world drivers’ and constructors’ titles between 2010 and 2013 at the end of the V8 era and thanked the French manufacturer for its efforts.

“We would like to thank Renault for the past 12 years, a period during which we experienced some incredible moments together,” he said. “We have sometimes had our differences but Renault has always worked tirelessly and to the best of its ability to provide us with a competitive power unit.

“That is still the case today and we would like to thank the Renault team, and particularly the guys in our garage at every race, for their unstinting commitment and we look forward to ending our partnership on a high come the end of this season.

“Our focus for the rest of this year is still very much on delivering the best results possible in the 2018 Championship and we wish Renault Sport all the best for the future.”