Verstappen highlights developments for the future Red Bull with the Honda unit

Despite a strong end to the season (victory in Mexico and narrowly missed victory in Brazil), Max Verstappen should not leave the turbo/hybrid V6 unit with much regret Renault, he who did not fail to criticize the engine of his RB14 on several occasions.

The Dutchman, in an interview given to the Formula 1 Café talk show on the Ziggo Sport channel, notably returned to the arrival of the Honda Power Unit in 2019 at Red Bull, which will thus imitate Toro Rosso, who partly played the role of land clearer for the structure of Milton Keynes.

Asked about the increase in power expected for the new version of the Japanese engine, and the different architecture of the Renault block, Verstappen specifies that Red Bull will have to logically modify several elements.

« The most impacted will be the gearbox, regarding the forces that are generated, emphasizes Verstappen. The cooling also needs to be changed. We made the decision very early on to engage with Honda and we have plenty of staff and know-how to be able to carry out all these modifications. »

The former FIA European Championship resident F3 also admits that the in-house simulators are running at full speed with Honda data. “A Honda engine is used on the test bench, explains Jos Verstappen’s son.

At Red Bull Racing we have a test bench that we can connect to the simulator so you can use the engine and analyze all the data. »

Verstappen will be supported in 2019 by the Frenchman Pierre Gasly, who will have had a full season of experience with Honda in F1, he who is playing under the Toro Rosso colors this year. The former GP2 Series winner will also be able to showcase his knowledge of Japanese culture, having defended the Honda colors in Super Formula in 2017.