The recently announced news that Honda will supply Red Bull with engines in 2019 will add "huge pressure" to the Japanese manufacturer according to Honda's General Manager of Motorsports, Masashi Yamamoto.
Red Bull has taken the plunge and confirmed on Tuesday that it will switch to Honda power, dropping long-time partner Renault, as it seeks to become a 'works' team alongside sister outfit Toro Rosso.
Although Yamamoto insists Red Bull will receive no preferential treatment over Toro Rosso, the fact the two companies share the same owner means they will be working towards a common goal.
"We’ll supply the same specification PU to both Red Bull and Toro Rosso," commented Yamamoto. "From a manufacturer’s point of view, it doesn’t make sense to identify either team as either works or customer as current regulations oblige us to supply the same power unit to all our teams.
"In that sense, this contract puts the three parties into an equal position. There won’t be a change in the current relationship between Honda and Toro Rosso. But we expect mutual transaction between the teams and Honda within the regulations, so that we need to make sure we maximise that advantage in order to get good synergy together."
Given Red Bull's success in F1, which has seen it win four drivers' and constructors' championships in its relatively short history, as well as taking two wins this season so far, Yamamoto says the expectation placed on Honda will increase the pressure to perform as wins will be expected in its first season together, but equally that increases their motivation to succeed.
"It is one of the top teams. It has won several championships and this year too it has already won some races," he said.
"In addition, it is also obvious that they have a very good chassis and this means we’ll have better chances of winning races. This gives further motivation to all the members of Honda, but at the same time, it is a huge pressure and responsibility for us.
"However, it is Honda’s nature to always aspire to a very high target, and I think that’s what makes Honda Honda.
"As a starting point, we do not want to see Red Bull Racing’s performance drop below its current level. But our target is to go further and do better than they are doing at the moment."
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