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Horner: Extra 50bhp for Red Bull would have altered the season

Horner: Extra 50bhp for Red Bull would have altered the season

30-11-2018 10:35 Last update: 10:41
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Christian Horner believes the 2019 season would have looked different had Red Bull had an extra 50bhp. He claims the team had built one of the best chassis ever and remains adamant the Honda engine will allow them to make a step next season.

After the summer break, Max Verstappen achieved the second best points tally and would have won back-to-back races if it wasn't for Esteban Ocon.

"It's always easy to say ifs, buts and maybes, but if there'd have been another 40kw [roughly 53bhp] in the back of the car, the season could have looked quite different. Hats off to everybody in Milton Keynes for producing arguably one of our best ever chassis," Horner told motorsport.

The other Renault engine users didn't get close to Red Bull in the constructor's championship. Renault themselves finished almost 300 points behind, while McLaren was over 350 points away.

"When you look at the other users with the same engine [the Renault works team and McLaren], there is a world of difference," Horner added to back up his point about the chassis.

Horner went on to confirm he's not worried about Honda's reliability issues. He points out how they've had plenty, and they know how to manage them.

"Reliability isn't something we've had. We've had 11 or 12 retirements this year. That's our biggest Achilles heel. If we can achieve the power and the reliability [of the big teams], Lewis Hamilton had one DNF this year, likewise with Sebastian. That's the rate we have to be aiming to achieve," Horner said.