5 Things We Learned From F1 Testing Week 1

#2 - Honda's Engine Looks Reliable

Red Bull have switched to Honda engines, and haven't suffered any mechanical issues.

To say that Honda's return to Formula 1 has been a baptism by fire is a masterpiece of understatement, but the Japanese manufacturer quietly went about improving their engine with Toro Rosso last year. 2019 is the first year that Red Bull use the Honda power unit, after a messy and lengthy divorce with Renault.

The RBR chassis is usually one of, if not the, best on the grid, but their engine power and reliability have traditionally been their Achilles heel in the V6 era, one of the many reasons their aforementioned split with Renault was in such bad taste.

Their decision to run Honda engines in 2019 is both the main cause for both optimism and pessimism, uncertainty over power output being the reason behind this. However, so far, the situation appears rosy, with Toro Rosso and Red Bull accumulating over 450 laps each. Even if the grunt isn't on the same level of the Mercedes and Ferrari motors, the Honda is reliable, something that the Renault engine certainly wasn't in 2018.