Christian Horner hailed Honda for delivering the best engine installation that Red Bull have ever had as their partnership continues to begin in positive terms – publicly at least. Max Verstappen totalled an impressive 128 laps on the first day of Formula 1 preseason testing on Monday.

Red Bull's acrimonious split was confirmed last year, with what was seen as a surprise move to Honda following.

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The Japanese marque made steady progress with Toro Rosso last year after three seasons of disappointment with McLaren, and Red Bull have talked up their new partners at every turn this winter.

In the midst of a positive start for Verstappen in Barcelona, Horner was once again glowing in his praise.

"Ultimately power is a dominating factor but I have to say that the installation of this engine into the chassis is probably the best one we have ever had," said Horner.

Day 1 done ???????????????? Max ???? 128 Laps

Daniil ???? 77 Laps#PoweredByHonda pic.twitter.com/E8iGGwDLym — Honda Racing F1 (@HondaRacingF1) February 18, 2019

"When you look how neatly integrated it is into the chassis, it really is a thing of beauty. The whole engineering team collectively with Honda have done a great job in terms of installing what looks like a Swiss clock into the back of our chassis."

Although Horner's boss Dr Helmut Marko has set sights on championship success in 2019, the Red Bull team principal remains more measured.

"It is not going to be a fast process, there is no silver bullet, and I think as the organisations learn more about each other and their strengths and relative weaknesses, it is something that will grow over a period of time but we are not putting any timescale on that."

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