Dietrich Mateschitz thinks Red Bull can go to "the very top" with its new Honda engines for 2019.
Notwithstanding the McLaren debacle, Honda developed a harmonious relationship with Toro Rosso this year, and now the senior Red Bull team is signing up.
"In the last few years, we have been among the top three teams, but we were managing to do so with a below average engine," said Mateschitz, the energy drink magnate who owns Red Bull and Toro Rosso.
He told Welt am Sonntag newspaper that, until now, Red Bull had no choice other than to use customer Renault engines.
"Both Ferrari and Mercedes were at risk of Red Bull being faster than their factory teams, so they would not give us an engine," said the Austrian billionaire.
But he says Red Bull can now look confidently into its future as a Honda works team.
"The solution to our problem is a partner that has all the prerequisites for developing a top engine that fits perfectly with Red Bull and vice versa," said Mateschitz.
"The goal can only be a joint journey to the very top," he added.