Red Bull Racing unveils its "honeymoon period" with Honda

Marshall said his relationship with Renault, which lasted 12 seasons, was "bottom-up" and subject to conflict of interest.

He said: "Our relationship with Renault is well known, has had its ups and downs. At times, they were really great and focused on helping us get to the front. Then they formed their own team and of course the focus was on that. There were a few things we could not do. "

Marshall explains that the way it works with Honda is very different, both discussing the best way forward. He said: "The honeymoon period is still in full swing. Honda are really professional, they are really prepared and they push very hard. They understand what we need and we understand what we need to make sure everything goes smoothly.

"With Honda, it's very different. We sit together and decide what is best. In our meetings, we do not talk about what makes the power is the fastest or the fastest car, we talk about the development that brings the most points to the championship, so you also take the risk of reliability. That's how we decide whether or not to do something. So it's a pretty different approach. "

However, Marshall concedes that there are areas around the power unit that need to be improved, which will yield tangible gains to the team. He comments, "We can see areas around food focusing on packaging. These are not necessarily big problems, but there are probably four or five areas in which we think that if we could change that, it would be better. You add up five of these five things or even three of those five things and you make a tangible gain. It's almost like free winnings, if you know what I mean, as if it costs nothing in terms of performance from Honda.

"It's just doing different things and moving a few things. They are very open to our suggestions and, similarly, we understand when they say that it is a little tricky or that we do not want to do it because there is a risk of reliability badociated with that. "

In 2016, Red Bull Racing announced its partnership with Exxon Mobil. Marshall said the Esso Synergy competition fuel has evolved and its performance has increased.

He said: "We have good communication, so we have access to hardware updates for the power supply and important fuel performance introductions, which coincide with these mechanical updates. Mobil 1 lubricants are different because we use a lot of lubricants ourselves. Knowing this is important, so it's very important to understand the ins and outs of lubricants. "

In the latest issue of RACE TECH, you will discover how Red Bull Racing has gone from a Honda to revival after 12 years and 59 victories with Renault, tainted by an increasingly dysfunctional relationship. How, asks Matt Youson, will things be different this time? Get it here.