2019 is already in the sights for Honda

Before the French Grand Prix last weekend, Red Bull and Honda have formalized their union for 2019, following on from the engine supply already in place between the Japanese entity and Toro Rosso.

An announcement which opens a new era for both structures, Red Bull Racing after a golden period with Renault until 2013 before a move to the more complicated V6 turbo/hybrid, and Honda, after a discovery of Power Units which was tricky with McLaren.

And if Toro Rosso seems satisfied with its collaboration with Honda for the moment, the wait is very high for Red Bull. The Milton Keynes team will carefully monitor the progress of the Japanese manufacturer's 2018 engine, which is already looking towards 2019.

“As far as our racing R&D department at Honda is concerned, we will obviously be working on the smallest details of the Spec 3,” said Masashi Yamamoto, Honda Motorsport Manager.

But at the same time, we are going to be very focused on the specifications for next year. This year's specs are mostly all done for 2018, so the last half of this year will be very focused on development for next year. »

Christian Horner, Team Principal of Red Bull Racing, for his part indicated that his team would remain focused on the 2018 season with Renault, before benefiting from the Japanese V6 next year.