Red Bull was always likely to have little choice but to use Honda engines from 2019, Renault Sport managing director Cyril Abiteboul has suggested.

Earlier this week came the surprise announcement that the Milton Keynes-based outfit would be ending their 12-year partnership with Renault, one that saw them win four world titles from 2010-2013 but had been on a slippery slope in the hybrid era.

It was surprising because only last week, team boss Christian Horner suggested no decision would be made and revealed before Red Bull's home race in Austria in just over a week's time.

Now though, more information about the circumstances which led to the two-year deal with Honda is emerging, with Abiteboul painting a different picture to that Red Bull might want to portray.

“Last year in Singapore we announced a comprehensive set of agreements with both the Red Bull group and McLaren," he recalled to Autosport, with the latter ending a difficult three-year partnership with Honda. 

“This was featuring a termination of Toro Rosso at the end of 2017 and the termination of Red Bull at the end of 2018, even though Red Bull had requested to be a bit more vague about that topic."

As they watched the performance of the Japanese manufacturer at their junior team during the opening races of this season, the Renault boss claimed it was Horner and Marko who were wanting the option to extend their current contract.

“It went in a different direction when Red Bull requested to us an offer, as there was a bit of indecision about which way to go," he explained.

“For us, it (the Honda deal) is more a confirmation of what was in the air, and which is also a strategic and commercial decision more than purely a technical or sporting decision from Red Bull.”

Later, it was Marko himself who conceded Renault held the cards in their negotiation and eventually led to the decision to swap.

"Renault set an ultimatum that ended on Sunday. We had no choice," said the Austrian.

Red Bull insist they have full confidence in Honda to supply them with a competitive engine for the next two seasons, and on Thursday at Paul Ricard, Max Verstappen also downplayed fears.

“Looking at the performance they showed this year and the improvements they made – especially in Canada again – it looked very positive," the Dutchman told reporters

“They keep improving and putting people in the right places. I believe in the decision and the team clearly believes in it because they signed the deal.

“It’s exciting as well when you have Honda working for Red Bull and Toro Rosso only, and it’s purely designed around your car. I think that also is very good,” he added.