Verstappen: In 2020 Red Bull and Honda will be at full force

Verstappen has already written off this year, his final one with troublesome and increasingly inadequate Renault power. Next year with Honda power he also does not expect to be a challenger, but in 2020 he expects to be a force once again.

Ahead of the Italian Grand Prix weekend, in an interview published on his website, Verstappen was asked if Honda powered Red Bull can be a challenger next year, to which he replied, "Everyone wants that, but in Formula 1 that’s a tricky thing."

"At first we will need to take some more steps, but hopefully, at the end we will be close. The year after, we should be out in full force."

Honda have deep pockets and some serious face-saving to do after three years of the worst PR imaginable with McLaren. This time around they are intent on doing it right and Red Bull in place to reap the rewards. Harmony and genuine goodwill between the partners prevails for now...

The honeymoon has been low key but by all accounts has potential to be a far less tumultuous 'marriage' than the one endured by the Woking outfit and Honda.

Verstappen is confident his team made the right call to ditch Renault, "Looking at where they came from the last couple of years, they have advanced considerably. You very rarely see something get broken. The most important thing is that they want to take things to the limit."

"They have the means, which is very important if you want to take on the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes. All in all, Honda is a much more serious candidate."

"They have already been on the test rig and want a lot of gearboxes from us to prepare themselves for the coming year. They are enormously driven and want to do thousands of miles on the test rig."

The reality is to close the one second (or more) deficit that Honda have relative to pace-setters Mercedes and Ferrari.

But clearly, victory is all that matters for the popular Dutchman who finished third at Spa-Francorchamps on Sunday, "Finishing third earns you nothing. If you finish third or fifth, it really makes no difference for me.”

Inevitably the subject of Daniel Ricciardo's defection to Renault came up, on his teammate's decision Verstappen said, "The whole team was surprised especially that he would be going to Renault."

"If you move to Ferrari or Mercedes, a team would understand that. But even Christian Horner said it himself, he thought that he was making a joke, so that says it all.”

"We have always had a great time together, but it’s not like he is leaving completely. He is going to another team so he will still be in Formula 1," added Verstappen.