Honda: Red Bull respect us

Honda motorsport boss Masashi Yamamoto has claimed that the aim of the Japanese manufacturer is initially to maintain Red Bull's current level of performance before hopefully getting them back to championship level, whilst also praising the relationship between both parties as Red Bull have "respect" for Honda.

There has been speculation for months now that Red Bull would not renew their current deal to receive power units from Renault, and on Tuesday news broke that the partnership ended, with Honda selected as the new supplier from 2019 onwards.

Yamamoto revealed that Honda must make sure Red Bull remains competitive for races initially, before eventually evolving them into championship contenders.

“[Red Bull] is one of the top teams," Yamamoto said.

"It has won several championships and this year too it has already won some races [two from the first seven GPs].

“It is also obvious that they have a very good chassis and this means we’ll have better chances of winning races.

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“This gives further motivation to all the members of Honda, but at the same time, it is a huge pressure and responsibility for us.

“However, it is Honda’s nature to always aspire to a very high target, and I think that’s what makes Honda, Honda.

“As a starting point, we do not want to see Red Bull Racing’s performance drop below its current level. But our target is to go further and do better than they are doing at the moment.

“We will have to live up to their high expectations, but can see their respect for us."

Honda already provides power units for Toro Rosso, having been dropped by McLaren for the start of the 2018 season, but Yamamoto has claimed that planning and preparing is already underway for the added responsibility of Red Bull for 2019.

“I think now all other teams have already started the development for 2019 so we will also have to start work on the matching of the chassis and the power unit with the team,” the Honda boss continued.

“Though we have more time compared to last year’s Toro Rosso situation, it is still a relatively shorter timeframe than everyone else.

“So, we have to make sure we have good communication in order to have smooth development together.”