F1 Preview: What to expect from teams and drivers in 2019  

Red Bull and Toro Rosso

F1 Grand Prix of Malaysia

I’m afraid I’ve had to lump these two teams together because, unless there is a mutiny in the Toro Rosso team, they will not only be second but will be so busy trying to help their parent team I can’t see them being able to compete much in the midfield.

Red Bull, on the other hand, could be a great watch: two young drivers eager to prove themselves and a series of end of season wins last year could see the team throw its hat back into the ring for the Championship battle.

But this dark horse could just as easily be going backward as forwards. I would love Honda to produce a great engine but the fact is they have not lived up to their F1 pedigree since rejoining the sport and one season with Toro Rosso just doesn’t seem like a long enough trial period to give them the keys to the Red Bull kingdom.

Throw in the abysmal reliability of the car being the most likely reason for Ricciardo leaving to join Renault (a prospect that gets more worrying if Ricciardo was like Hamilton when he moved to Mercedes - a move that was laughed at the time and has now led to four World Championships) and a serious likelihood of collisions between the two young very competitive drivers.

This could become a season of returning champions or a further fall from grace, either, way this will be a key season for Red Bull and entertaining for fans.