Austrian GP of 2019 Proved The Red Bull And Honda Alliance Is Here To Stay

Spielberg was set alight by a towering win by Max Verstappen. The next best outcome, it could be said, was Charles Leclerc bagging his best-ever F1 result. Perhaps, one may have forgotten to raise a toast in front of all the chaos unleashed by “Mad Max,” who gathered, upon the completion of those nervy 71 laps, his sixth career win (and his second at the venue).

But above anything, one got to learn about the resilience and sturdiness of the 2019 Red Bull machine. Isn’t it?

Apart from unfurling mega excitement- something that Formula 1 so desperately needed- the Austrian Grand Prix of 2019 proved something utterly important. It showed one and all that the Red Bull- Honda alliance is here to stay.

Even today, in the minds of his dearest fans, a principle reason as to why Daniel Ricciardo- formerly with Red Bull- moved onto Renault was the Milton Keynes-based outfit’s decision to align with Honda.

The Red Bull-Renault horrors of 2018 were to painfully endured by the Aussie that a growing fear among the clout of Red Bull critics was whether the Red Bull Honda alliance would work or not. And any doubts regarding that were smashed to the ground when Max Verstappen found a way to put his unputdownable Red Bull ahead of Leclerc’s leading Ferrari.

On Lap 70, as Verstappen clinched the lead of the Austrian Grand Prix, many according to whom, Red Bull were not capable of anything else other than closing the gap to the frontrunners- Mercedes and Ferrari- were dismissed with some authority.

It, in some ways also told us that with 9 races done and 12 more to go, Red Bull and Honda have formed a strong alliance that isn’t some second fiddle in the 2019 narrative.

It appears the car can only improve further as the teams continue to build and evolve in their search for absolute perfection, whether it is via improving new parts or introducing new engine upgrades.

No stranger to telling things in his heart the way they are, Max spoke in the aftermath of a stunning victory, sharing:

This is very important for us and also for the future, for Honda as well.

“I’m just very happy that it happened today and it just gives us a lot of confidence as well to the boys and maybe a few doubts are going away because of it.

“So yeah, at the moment it’s an amazing feeling.”

A leading motor-sports publication also spoke about the optimism that Max Verstappen’s enthralling win brought to the Red Bull camp, now brimming with newfound enthusiasm.

It would go on to say the following:

After Red Bull’s progress with its car and Honda’s Spec 3 engine combined to produce a first win for the new partnership, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was full of praise for Honda’s efforts.