Brawn: It’s easy to forget how young Max is

In his 'what to watch for in 2019' interview, published on the official F1 website, Brawn pointed out, “It’s easy to forget how young he is. If you think of yourself at that age, with the exposure and pressure, what he is doing is pretty special."

“What we are seeing with Max is a great maturing of his approach, losing none of his speed and aggression but just being a bit more tempered in terms of how he attacks things. 2018 was another big step forward for Max. In the right car and right team, he’s world champion material for sure.

“Max will be the known reference in the team in 2019. That is always helpful in a team to have that continuity, if you have a troublesome car or you have some things to sort out, knowing the driver, knowing how to qualify what he says is very helpful. So I think it is great for the team.”

How Honda ended up powering Toro Rosso first and next season both Red Bull teams is a story well told, and as the new partnership engages Brawn is well positioned to predict how Honda will cope.

After all it was he who took over the team when they decided to depart the sport at the end of 2008 when the global crisis struck, a year later Brawn GP were double world champions winning the constructors with Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button, the latter claiming the drivers' title, albeit powered by Mercedes.

Brawn mused, “Honda teaming up with Red Bull will be positive because Red Bull become a full works team. They haven’t been that I since their Jaguar days. They have had a very good relationship, most of the time, with their engine supplier, particularly during their successful world championships with Renault.

“It’s always a different challenge when you are a works team with an engine manufacturer. You have to hold hands and you have got to jump in together, work together, and be as one and that is the strength of that opportunity.

“It’s something I have always focused on because it really does give you some great chances. Red Bull have now got to grasp that opportunity with Honda and get back into the really sharp end. They have to become a championship contender again,” added the F1 chief of motorsport.