Verstappen to get hands on Honda-powered Red Bull for first time

Max Verstappen will get his hands on a Honda-powered Red Bull for the first time this week when he heads to the team's Milton Keynes HQ for simulator runs with next year's machinery. All eyes will be on whether Red Bull can maintain, or even improve, their standing on the grid with the Japanese marque on-board next year.

Red Bull got something of a head-start on 2019 as Toro Rosso demoed several engine parts in the closing stages of the 2018 campaign, gaining crucial data as plans for next year become crystallised.

The team will not know for sure how the partnership will work until the car is on track in Barcelona for pre-season testing, however Verstappen may well have a decent idea after getting a run in the simulator under his belt.

"I am going to sit there in the simulator, it will be the first time with Honda," Verstappen told Servus TV.

"Everything is going very smoothly and everyone is looking forward to the first year with Honda, at the factory I feel that everyone is even more motivated than before."

Only Lewis Hamilton outscored Verstappen in the latter stages of the season as the Dutchman surged up to fourth in the championship, having struggled for points in the early rounds of the campaign.

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