After deconstructing their relationship with Honda following three dismal years of failures and under-performance, McLaren's Zak Brown and Fernando Alonso see happy trails ahead for its former partner.
Honda's engine supply agreement with Red Bull for 2019 and 2020 brings the Japanese manufacturer back to the forefront of F1 in a big way after its McLaren debacle.
Brown, who supported the logical decision to dump Honda, admits the team's former partner has clearly made significant progress since last year.
"Honda has clearly taken a step forward this year and learned from the past three years," he said.
"It's a great company and of course they have made progress."
Cue Fernando Alonso who mischievously labeled in the past Honda's power unit as a "GP2 engine" but now says Red Bull will remain a strong contender after ditching Renault for Honda, mainly thanks to its chassis.
"There is always a reference team with its chassis and it doesn't matter if it's Renault or Honda, I don't think it will change much," the Spaniard is quoted by Marca.
But perhaps the strangest comment to come from the good folk at Woking is Eric Boullier's assessment of what it takes to win a championship in F1.
"I think Red Bull is showing that you can win races as a customer, but I think winning a championship is another level -- you need to have a works team status," said McLaren's racing director.
But Eric, wasn't that exactly McLaren's status last year?
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