After the parting of Renault engines this season, Red Bull moved on to Honda engines. However, this new partnership is already off to a rocky start with potential grid penalties already starting before the season opener in Melbourne.
Dr Helmut Marko has claimed the Honda engine has already overtaken Renault, but the top teams of Mercedes and Ferrari still have a hold over the Austrian team. However, Cyril Abiteboul, Renault team principle, has claimed otherwise saying "Honda is still 20kW behind us!" Cyril also stated that Red Bull were hiding facts, "I know what Red Bull says but they're hiding facts and manipulating the data. I understand their communication strategy, but there are no facts." He continued with,"Eventually it will be seen that Honda is 20kW behind and that they have not moved from their current position."
Dr Helmut Marko did not stay quiet; responding with "We do not need to discuss that because next year we will see what our position is. Mr Abiteboul will continue to daydream but next year it will be completely clear."
Despite the two teams divorcing at the end of the 2018 season, the feud between Red Bull and Renault still clearly lives on.
Although the Red Bull-Honda partnership may look more appealing after such a rollercoaster season filled with unreliability, 12 DNFs overall, there will still be a long road till the championship title. However, Rome wasn't built in a day... But this philosophy could also be put to Renault and their four year plan.
Honda have promised to give Red Bull a "party-mode" on their engines, which essentially gives the engine a surge of speed. Mercedes and Ferrari have been running with "party-mode" for many years, but usually reserve activating it until the last section of qualifying, the moments where it counts, the shootout for pole. Will this help Red Bull in the fight for the title?
Will Honda ever return to the glory days, can they make the youngest ever F1 World Champion out of Pierre Gasly or Max Verstappen?
Only time will tell, and with pre-season testing only a month away, there won't be long to wait. Stats and timings don't lie...
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