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Honda to build custom engine for Red Bull

11:45, 27 Jun 2018

byJake Williams-Smith

Honda will build a custom engine for new partners Red Bull. The Japanese team will develop an engine for Red Bull to design their 2019 car around, giving them a headstart in the process.

According to Max Verstappen, the engine will be sent to Red Bull so the team can begin building their 2019 challenger sooner rather than later.

“I believe in it, and the team clearly believes in it because they signed the deal.

“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 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.

“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.”

Red Bull announced last week that they would be switching from Renault to Honda power from next season onward. It comes after a turbulent couple of years after a perceived underperformance from Renault during the hybrid era, beginning back in 2014.