Max Verstappen has suggested he does have a ‘Plan B’ should the new Red Bull-Honda partnership fail to succeed in the next two years.
The Anglo-Austrian team has hyped up their change in engine supplier for 2019, believing the switch to the Japanese manufacturer will be the boost Red Bull need to compete regularly with Mercedes and Ferrari.
Despite that, there is still the admission that it will take a little time for Honda to match Formula 1’s current standard bearers in terms of engine performance and Verstappen is among those making that claim.
“I really like this team and I’m sure we can build the fastest car ever,” the 21-year-old reportedly told Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“We just need the engine to reach the right level and next year we must try to go strong and set the stage for 2020, when the project is fighting for the title.”
If that isn’t the case, however, he added: “There is always a Plan B…”
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That could mean a repeat of 2017 when Verstappen was looking at options elsewhere before eventually committing to a deal with Red Bull until the end of 2020.
During that time Mercedes, in particular, showed a great deal of interest and with Lewis Hamilton’s contract ending at the same time, perhaps Max in Silver can’t be ruled out.