Why Red Bull can take confidence from the past ahead of major F1 milestone

We return to 2019, when Red Bull drew a line under its relationship with Renault after years of collaboration and took the plunge with Honda, a manufacturer that had just emerged from a disastrous spell at McLaren. The bold engine switch was not without risk.

Honda had endured a dramatic period at McLaren between 2015 and 2017, plagued by performance and reliability problems that made the partnership increasingly strained.

Yet Red Bull had enjoyed the luxury of evaluating Honda extensively through sister team Toro Rosso, which had already been running Japanese engines in 2018.

Red Bull recognised that the development trajectory would be superior with Honda. Renault had been struggling with performance and reliability throughout the V6 era, leaving Milton Keynes-based team unable to fight for world titles. With Honda, change had to happen.

Red Bull's surprising 2019 start

Red Bull understood, however, that continued development would prove crucial, as Honda would not immediately match the level of the dominant Mercedes. 

Moreover, at the beginning of 2019, there was considerable noise around Ferrari, which appeared to perform particularly strongly during pre-season testing.

Then came Melbourne, where a surprising pecking order emerged. Mercedes stormed to pole position with particular authority, seven-tenths ahead of Sebastian Vettel in third. Max Verstappen claimed fourth, ahead of Charles Leclerc.

A day later, during the race, things would improve further for Red Bull. Ferrari appeared to be struggling, and Verstappen surprisingly managed to pass Vettel on track. In doing so, he secured a podium finish directly behind Mercedes for Red Bull and Honda. 

No, the benchmark was not yet Red Bull, but the initial signs were positive. Ultimately, it would prove the prelude to great success with Honda between 2021 and 2024.

Certain parallels can be drawn with 2026. Red Bull is now appearing for the first time with its own power unit and knows it will not dominate the sport immediately. 

Nonetheless, it would already be positive if Verstappen and possibly even Isack Hadjar can join the fray among the top teams, something that appeared possible during testing. 

Becoming a new power unit supplier in F1 is a significantly greater challenge, but Honda was in a dire state when it arrived to Red Bull in 2019. 

While Honda had the advantage of experience, Red Bull is not short of talented individuals who can steer its engine in the right direction this season.