Red Bull 'needed' the change to Honda, says Webber

Red Bull 'needed' the change to Honda, says Webber

Matthew Scott

Tuesday 5 February 2019 14:50

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Former Formula 1 driver and Red Bull star Mark Webber believes his former team "needed" the change to switch engine suppliers from Renault to Honda, and hopes they can improve their race pace as well as improving in qualifying, which he has backed them to do.

Although Honda's recent history in F1 has been unsuccessful, former Webber thinks dropping customer Renault power was the right move for the team.

"Red Bull needed a change," he told Speed Week.

"You get new energy from that. The biggest challenge for Honda will be to get all the performance out over the required life of the engine.

"I have no doubt that Honda will catch up in qualifying, but reliability in the race is something else. That needs time," the Australian said.

As for his countryman Daniel Ricciardo's decision to leave Red Bull, Webber is not so sure.

"He's made a bet and he wants to win it, unquestionably," he said. "What I do know is that Red Bull was very fair with him.

"Time will tell," Webber added. "Renault has a lot of excellent people, so if Renault can improve their performance, Danny will be there."