Max Verstappen excited by bespoke Honda F1 engine design prospect
Max Verstappen says the prospect of Honda designing its Formula 1 engine entirely around the requirements of Red Bull and Toro Rosso gives him faith in his team's 2019 decision


After months of deliberations, Red Bull announced this week that it would end its 12-year Renault relationship to join sister team Toro Rosso in using Hondas from next year.
Though Red Bull was Renault's primary F1 partner during its 2010-13 title run, in recent seasons it has been purely a customer after Renault re-established its own works team programme.
Verstappen, whose father Jos was part of an aborted works Honda F1 project in the late nineties (pictured below), made an encouraging visit to the Japanese manufacturer's facility last year after began working with Toro Rosso.

"I believe in it, and the team clearly believes in it because they signed the deal," he said of Honda.
"It's exciting as well. You have Honda basically working for Red Bull and Toro Rosso only, so it's purely designed around your car. I think that also is very good.
"I spoke with them [Red Bull's management] for a long time about what I thought of it.
"Of course I knew this [was happening] already earlier than you guys. They always kept me quite close because I like to understand what's going to happen with the team in the future."
Regarding his visit Honda's Sakura base he said: "The facility looked very nice. It was good to have a walk around and see the differences between Honda and Renault's factories.
"It was quite impressive how they've built up all the facilities and the dynos and stuff. It all looked very efficient."
Verstappen's team-mate Daniel Ricciardo remains unsure whether Honda or Renault is the best option.
"Honestly, I still don't really know," he said.
"Obviously Renault's come a pretty long way this year.
"I know we still don't have the qualifying modes, but our race pace, once we're all fuel saving and all that, we seem a lot more competitive. So they're improving.
"As you can see Honda seems to be improving with Toro Rosso.
"I think it's fair to say they're both on the up - it's just who's going to get there quicker, that's still the unknown.
"Obviously Red Bull believe that Honda are the right ones."

Hamilton: Mercedes self-critical after 'very, very average' Canada
French GP F1 practice: Lewis Hamilton leads Mercedes 1-2 in FP1

Latest news
The pioneering pair who brought a new glory era to an F1 heavyweight
With the team’s founder now retired and a new boss at the helm, change was coming to Brabham – change that would shape the future of Formula 1. In the third part of our four-part history of Brabham, DAMIEN SMITH examines the effect Bernie Ecclestone had on the team
The combination behind the Silverstone racing battles Hamilton called "F1 at its best"
OPINION: The late battling in the British Grand Prix wowed Formula 1 fans and surely represents the best racing action of the season so far. And there was a cocktail of factors that created the action, from which Carlos Sainz emerged as a popular new winner
How Ferrari’s Monaco headache became its Silverstone migraine
OPINION: Ferrari won the British Grand Prix with Carlos Sainz, but it ultimately cost Charles Leclerc a chance to make a bigger dent in Max Verstappen's title lead by leaving the Monegasque out on old tyres towards the end. Like Monaco, indecision over strategy proved to be the Scuderia's biggest issue - and if the team doesn't reflect, the headache can only intensify
The five factors behind Sainz winning a British GP he’d twice lost
Formula 1 has a newest race winner, in a grand prix the victor appeared to have lost twice, only to charge back to headline a sensational and dramatic British Grand Prix. From a massive start crash to a late sprint finish, here’s how five factors saw Carlos Sainz take his maiden grand prix win
Why there was no case to answer in Aston’s latest F1 copycat saga
The appearance of a revised Aston Martin in Spain caused controversy but PAT SYMONDS explains why the FIA investigation found the Silverstone team had no case to answer
Why it's Red Bull that really leads a three-way fight so far at Silverstone
After a slow start to Friday at Silverstone, all the Formula 1 teams had to effectively cram in a day’s worth of practice into one hour. But there was still plenty to learn and while Ferrari topped the times, a three-way battle is brewing ahead of the British Grand Prix
Why the future is bright for the British GP
It wasn’t so long ago the situation looked bleak at Silverstone with the future of the British Grand Prix under threat. But a transformation has seen it restored to one of the most important races on the Formula 1 calendar, with bigger and better to come
Could mixed fortunes for F1's leading Brits turn around at Silverstone?
For the first time in many years, none of the local racers starts among the favourites for the British Grand Prix. But George Russell, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris could have reasons for optimism