2019 was always going to be a year of transition for Red Bull
F1 News
Red Bull are in good form at the moment but Christian Horner has played down their good spell, insisting that 2019 was always going to be a year of transition, as they continue to adapt to life with Honda.
Red Bull switched to a Honda engine for 2019 and it was expected to be difficult for the Bulls to keep up with leaders, Mercedes and Ferrari. However, Max Verstappen has managed to get the most out of the Honda-powered car and it has resulted in him sitting third in the Drivers' Championship. Whilst Pierre Gasly has struggled for large parts of the season, Verstappen's good form has seen them be much more competitive than expected.
Despite challenging more than many expected, Horner insisted 2019 was always going to be about the transition.
"This season was always going to be a transitionary year, with a new engine partner coming on stream and the whole marriage and integration that is involved," Horner told the F1 website.
However, Horner did admit the form had taken them by surprise, adding: "That has exceeded internal expectations, in terms of by race nine we have a win and we have had a couple of podiums.
"Reliability has been strong – we still have all three engines available to use (per driver). They have only introduced new engines based on performance increments.
"We’re pushing for more in the second half of the year, which they have in the pipeline."