Red Bull Not Looking to Dictate Terms to Honda

Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner has stated that Honda will not be restricted in the development of their engines for next year. The Austrian team is seemingly trusting the manufacturer to give them enough freedom.

Horner was speaking to Sky F1 regarding the new deal. He said, “I think we can see the progress Honda is making. Our mantra’s going to be ‘go and build the best engine you can; we’re not going to give you any limitations in terms of packaging, we will make it fit’.”

“The progress they are making is obvious. For us it is absolutely the right partner going forward. They’ve got some talented people that have been recruited, they’ve got some specialists that they’re working with”, he added.

Asked about the reasons for splitting with Renault, Horner said that the priorities of Red Bull and the French team were different. “Renault are now in a situation where they have their own team, they have different priorities”, he said.

It is quite fair to say that Honda had an unsuccessful time in their partnership with McLaren. But Horner remained unconcerned and was unwilling to compare their situations.

“We’re more interested in what is the opportunity and the potential reward”, Horner said of the Red Bull-Honda deal. “For us, our decision was based on what’s in front of us here and now and looking forward.”

“This was very much driven by engineering, in terms of what is the best way for us to be competitive and bridge the gap to Mercedes and Ferrari. We really, genuinely feel this is the best way”, he stated.

The Red Bull boss could not resist taking a cheeky dig at McLaren too. “Obviously McLaren’s experience was McLaren’s experience. You can see it hasn’t got a whole world better since they’ve changed their engine partner”, was his reply.