Max Verstappen believes that by the time Red Bull bolt Honda power units to the back of their cars, they will be on par with or better than what Renault power offers his team right now.
At recent power-races, it was abundantly clear that the Renault PU package is still down on what Ferrari and Mercedes have in their arsenal, of course, the Dutchman is never shy to share his thoughts about the team’s current engine supplier when they are lacking.
But Verstappen is adamant that next year with Honda things will be different, “Let’s say I am very confident that at the start of the season we will not be worse than Renault. We will always be in the same or a better position.”
“I hope that it [the upgrade in Sochi] will already be a good step. I know the steps they are making up until the beginning of next season so it all looks very promising.”
Verstappen has visited HRD Sakura, Honda’s research and development operation and was impressed with what he saw, between this season and the next he intends to visit again, “I always ask questions about a lot of stuff – driveability, downshifting, energy deployment, all these kinds of things.”
“Of course the team is really busy with it now and just analysing everything. It looks promising. They are working really hard to get the gains and they are spending a lot of money on the whole project, which is very good,” added the 20-year-old.