Max Verstappen has hailed the performance and reliability of Honda’s power unit in 2019, and praised the marque for delivering on its promises.
Red Bull split from Renault after 12 years and linked up with Honda, joining sister team Toro Rosso, which picked up the supply abandoned by McLaren post-2017.
The Red Bull-Honda partnership claimed three victories and two pole positions through 2019, all courtesy of Verstappen, with the manufacturer extending its Formula 1 commitment until at least 2021.
“What was important to me was that we had a reliable engine – something we’ve struggled with in the past – and we didn’t retire once because of a Honda issue,” said Verstappen.
“That’s something we need if we want to fight for the world championship.
“I am really impressed with how Honda work. There is no limit, they will do everything for you.
“There’s a lot of potential there. Throughout this year every goal they set, or everything they promised, they delivered and more.
“That’s what you want to see, so I’m very happy we’re continuing the partnership and I hope we can go even further next year.”
In spite of the gains Red Bull still finished third in the Constructors’ Championship, scoring 12 fewer wins than Mercedes, with 417 points to the champions’ 739.
“Mercedes is the dominant team and we are still behind because there are a few things missing from the car,” he said.
“I think we can also find more performance in the engine, but everybody wants to improve, and I’m the same.
“We don’t want to be on the same level as them, we want to be ahead of them.
“We all want to win – we have the winners’ mentality in this team and we want to get back to those days of Red Bull dominance. We want to win more races, which hopefully means we’ll be fighting for the title.”
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