Horner: 2018 Red Bull results would have been no different with Honda

Christian Horner claims Red Bull would have still won the Chinese, Monaco and Austrian Grands Prix if they were using the Honda engine this season. The team insist the Japanese engine is within 1% of Renault. 

The switch was announced a couple of weeks ago, and the relationship will begin in 2019. Team boss at Red Bull is adamant the engine will not affect performance or results in a negative way next season. 

“We’d have still won the Grands Prix we won. Honda are within one per cent of our measurement of where we currently are,” Horner told AutoSport. 

"There's still a significant chunk to get to Ferrari and Mercedes but having the full focus of an OEM like Honda behind us, combined with the fact that with Renault we were becoming more and more the customer as inevitably their focus becomes more centred on their own team, it was absolutely the right timing to go this different path.”

Horner went on to explain the teams' decision behind the change. He believes Honda have the potential to close the gap between themselves and the top two teams. 

“One of the biggest issues that probably Renault have struggled with is probably the financial commitment to the R&D process. Mercedes have spent a lot of money, and invested heavily as have Ferrari,” he added. 

“These power units are extremely complex, and you can see now that there are still incremental gains being made with the introduction of each power unit.”