Red Bull ‘drop a bomb’ on Ricciardo with ‘2019 interim year’ statement

Red Bull’s decision to switch from Renault to Honda has been one of much discussion in the F1 fraternity, as Honda had had a terrible few years with McLaren, struggling with relaibility and performance.

However, ‘that upgrade’ before the Canadian GP where Red Bull were extracting data out of Toro Rosso, the decision was taken that the Renault-Red Bull relationship had run its course.

A new era with Honda was announced and an air of uncertainty accompanied that announcement.

Christian Horner made it clear that Red Bull had done its homework about the Honda engine and how compatible it would be with the Red Bull, however, in a recent statement made today, Horner has admitted to the fact that 2019 would be an ‘interim year’ for the team.

Horner believes that Honda still needs to have a few more upgrades before they can match the competition that’s out there.

“When we look at the competition, I think that Honda still has to take the necessary steps. 2019 will therefore be an interim year. I expect that we will be ready in 2020” Horner said, as quoted by Gazetta dello sport.

Now, with this statement it would be interesting to see how Ricciardo reacts, especially with his new Red Bull deal still pending.

With the interim year set to kick in next year and the new regulations to kick in from 2021, 2020 could be the only year for Ricciardo to have a realistic shot at the WDC.

Also, earlier Ricciardo had said that his next F1 contract could probably be his last one.

Horner also spoke about Red Bull’s missed chances this season.

“We actually want more. We could have won in Bahrain and could achieve a double podium in China and Monaco. Unfortunately this did not work and we have missed too many opportunities. We are, however, the only team that can make the Ferrari and Mercedes difficult.” Horner concluded.