Marko: “Honda is coming to Monza again with a major upgrade”

Red Bull Racing can expect a major update for the Honda engine during the Grand Prix of Italy. Advisor Helmut Marko told Motorsport-magazin.de that this will be at the expense of a grid penalty.

Red Bull Racing is currently in the first season of collaboration with motorcycle supplier Honda. For the time being, the Austrian team is satisfied with the power sources supplied by the Japanese, as they appear to be a step ahead of the Renault engines that the team used until 2018. The development rate of Honda also seems to be higher than that of Renault.

In Azerbaijan, Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly were provided with an upgrade of the power source for the first time and the next major upgrade will follow after the summer break. “It comes with the fourth power source of 2019 in Monza,” said Marko. “Unless the leap forward is so significant that we can accept the grid penalty sooner. The numbers we received from Honda betray a big boost.”

Marko still believes in five victories in 2019

After the race in Australia, Marko was enthusiastic in the direction of Honda. The Austrian told then that the backlog of Red Bull compared to Mercedes was mainly the result of the lesser chassis of the Austrian team. He will come back to that somewhat now. “We had solved our problems, but we lost three tenths in the first sector when Mercedes used to use party mode in Australia. We underestimated the Ferrari and Mercedes move last winter.”

Prior to the season, Marko also talked about the ambitions he had with Red Bull Racing. The talent scout expected at least five wins in 2019, but after Monaco the team is still at zero. Marko, however, continues to hold hope. “I will stick to that. The season is still long and we are making progress.”