How Honda achieved F1 redemption through Verstappen’s title

Would Max Verstappen have won the 2021 Formula 1 world championship had his Red Bull team stuck with Renault power and not switched to Honda ahead of the 2019 season? Given how close the battle was between the Dutchman and rival Lewis Hamilton last year, when any marginal gains were priceless, the likely answer is no.

There is little doubt that the Honda power unit was a better overall package than the Renault used by the Alpine team last year, and in addition chief technical officer Adrian Newey and his colleagues had a couple of years to fully integrate the Honda with their chassis, something that would never have been possible as a customer team.

In hindsight, Red Bull’s switch to Honda looks like a stroke of genius. It’s easy to forget now that it was also a huge gamble, given how poorly the Japanese engine appeared to be performing in the McLaren in 2017, when the plan was first set in motion. In fact, Red Bull had flirted with Honda a couple of years earlier, after the relationship with Renault hit the rocks and Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff blocked a Red Bull switch to Mercedes power that the late Niki Lauda had brokered.

In 2015, McLaren was in the first year of its exclusive deal with Honda and, after a tricky start, there were at least some signs of progress. So when Red Bull heard that a Sauber customer deal was on the cards, it investigated.

“There were some early discussions, even back in 2015,” says team principal Christian Horner. “Bernie [Ecclestone] was very much involved in trying to broker a deal with Honda, and then we got as far as Austin and had a major meeting between ourselves and Honda. Unfortunately, Ron Dennis [still in charge at McLaren] had the right of veto at the time and vetoed that partnership, otherwise we would have changed beforehand.

“I remember back in 2015 we were designing the [2016] car with three different engines! Because we had all of the drawings from Honda, we had a handshake deal with Mercedes, and obviously the Renault at the time. So Rob Marshall and his team were, at that point, accommodating three different power units. In 2016-17, we continued with Renault, but it was clear that we needed to look outside of that relationship.”

Red Bull kept a close watch on Honda. In 2016 there appeared to be signs of progress at McLaren, but in 2017 form dipped again. Fingers were pointed at Japan, and the partnership unravelled. Despite the huge financial penalty, McLaren opted to become a Renault customer in 2018. Meanwhile, Honda’s planned deal to supply Sauber as a second team was cancelled.

Honda's switch from McLaren to Toro Rosso was a precursor to Red Bull taking on Sakura's finest

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Red Bull stepped in and it was agreed that Toro Rosso would run Honda engines in 2018, giving the manufacturer some breathing space to develop with a lower-profile team. If all went to plan, Red Bull would then make the move for 2019.

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“I think strategically from the group perspective, it made sense for Toro Rosso to take up the supply of the Honda engine after McLaren basically withdrew,” says Horner. “By which time, obviously, Ron had left. It was a safety mechanism to do that, because it was such a big choice. It gave us an insight in advance of needing to make a commitment. And I think that it enabled us to go into 2019 well prepared.

“We really wanted it to work. We could see the passion, we visited Sakura, we’d seen the commitment, seen the investment that was going in behind the scenes, and so it was clear to us that it was only a matter of time. They were going to get it right. And hopefully with our experience, we could speed that process up.”

Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko was fully confident that Honda would get the job done.

“We didn’t go blind into it,” says the Austrian. “I can’t tell you my sources, but we knew what was possible. And once we visited Sakura, it was so impressive that it was clear that it was the right decision. And at that time, I think Christian and Adrian came as well, so that they saw what’s going on over there.

"By the time we reached Montreal [in 2018], the Renault and the Honda were neck and neck. But the trajectory that Honda was on, compared to that of Renault, was overwhelming" Christian Horner

“We had information. And we knew that Honda wasn’t happy about the whole [McLaren] situation, and that at least part of Honda wanted to prove that they can do the job. After the years with Renault, from 2014 onwards, we were always behind, we were always told, ‘Next year, next year.’ The approach also from the money side – and if you look at their facilities, how many dynos they have and so on – then it was clear that it is a different level of support.”

The plan worked perfectly from the very start. On Toro Rosso’s second outing with Honda power, in Bahrain in April 2018, Pierre Gasly qualified sixth and finished fourth – it was a clear sign that Honda was on the right path.

“For Red Bull Racing strategically, we had an option date mid-year,” continues Horner. “We needed to inform Renault following the Canadian Grand Prix [in June] what our decision will be. So we had pretty much the first half of 2018 to look at the development. By supplying the gearbox to Toro Rosso we got to see the installation, we got to see what the engine was doing, what Honda’s commitment was, and their rate of progress.

Red Bull opted to take on the Honda PU for 2019 after development proved encouraging

Photo by: Jerry Andre / Motorsport Images

“By the time we reached Montreal, the Renault and the Honda were neck and neck. But the trajectory that Honda was on, compared to that of Renault, was overwhelming, plus the commitment that Honda had behind the project. So at that point the decision was made for 2019 to take on the Honda.”

“The first engines in 2018 were what they promised,” says Marko. “And the big step came in Montreal. And after this Montreal upgrade came, we finalised it. The internal decision was more or less in Monte Carlo [in May]. And it was fixed when we saw the improvement in Montreal.”

The Red Bull management could barely believe that McLaren had handed the Honda deal over, not least because of the financial implications.

“The swing for McLaren must have been close to $100million,” says Horner. “Because they went from getting a free engine, sponsorship and the drivers being funded to having to pay for an engine, for the drivers, and lose the sponsorship. So it was an enormous swing for them.

“It was difficult to understand the rationale behind it. And I remember [McLaren shareholder] Mansour Ojjeh saying, ‘Shit, I think we f***** it up!’ Because there were a lot of comments at the time that McLaren had the best chassis. And suddenly, when [in 2018] they were on the same engine that we had, it became clear that all the fault did not lay at the hands of the engine.”

At the opening race of 2019 in Australia, Verstappen qualified fourth and finished third with Honda power. After that there was no looking back.

“It was Honda’s first podium of the hybrid era,” Horner recalls. “It was fantastic to see Honda staff crying under the podium in Australia for a third place. You had to see that passion and emotion, and you knew how much it meant to them. And then, of course, it wasn’t long until at the Austrian GP we won their first race. And that was a massive moment. It was fairytale stuff.

“Max was very competitive that year. And we had three wins, it should have been four, I think. He came very close to winning in Budapest. So it was a competitive start for the relationship.”

Verstappen's 2019 Austrian Grand Prix win was Honda's first since 2006

Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images

There was further progress during the 2020 season, although Mercedes made a bigger step than expected – one motivated by Ferrari’s spectacular form in 2019, prior to the FIA clampdown on the Maranello team’s powerplant. Then in October 2020 came the bombshell – Honda would cease its works involvement at the end of the following season, ostensibly to focus its R&D resources on electrification.

“They actually confirmed in the summer to us,” says Horner. “So they were gracious enough to let us know around July, to give us plenty of time to think and talk to potential other suppliers for 2022.

“I think their decision to focus on the electrification of the products, combined with the global pandemic, brought everything to a head. And so at the back end of 2020, we explored tentatively what other options would be available.”

“We knew there was an element of risk. But the upside was significant, and I think it’s paid off in abundance. We’ve had a lot of fun, we’ve had great passion, and great commitment.”Christian Horner

Meanwhile, Honda’s development was ramped up for its last official season in 2021 as the company fast-tracked upgrades that were in the pipeline.

“With Renault we got an engine,” says Marko. “And if you wanted changes, it was more than pain, if they would do any changes. With Honda from the very first moment whatever they promised, it happened.

“The only thing was we thought with what was coming from Honda that we would be on the level of Mercedes in 2020. But there was this Italian miracle on the engine side, and Mercedes put such an effort into their engines, we still weren’t there. So the first year we were on the same level was 2021.”

Verstappen and Red Bull were the fastest package for much of last season and, after a late surge from Hamilton, they secured the title at the controversial Abu Dhabi finale. The Honda gamble had worked better than anyone could have predicted.

Max Verstappen's 2021 F1 title closed off Honda's official support of Red Bull in style

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

“We knew with Renault, there is no future,” says Marko. “If we wanted to keep Max, we had to do something. I think Honda was the only decision to make and, fortunately, it worked out very well.”

“We knew there was an element of risk,” says Horner. “But the upside was significant, and I think it’s paid off in abundance. We’ve had a lot of fun, we’ve had great passion, and great commitment.”

Honda says sayonara – sort of

Red Bull learned in July 2020 that Honda would cease its works involvement in Formula 1 at the end of 2021. The company attempted to persuade Honda to remain involved, but the call to end official support proved to be irreversible.

“I think if we would have this sort of success in 2020 already, maybe they would have changed their opinion,” Marko noted during last year’s successful campaign. “Because they see now what sort of publicity they get, how big Honda is on the car, and so on. But once a decision is done in Japan, it’s done.”

The alternative strategy was to persuade Honda to keep supplying its engines, but on a customer basis, paid for by Red Bull.

“We very quickly came to the conclusion that if we could work out a deal with Honda, based on the progress and the skill set that they have within the group, that would be by far our best chance of competitiveness,” explains Horner. “We could take control of our own future with a powertrain.”

Honda still supplies Red Bull, but badged under the Red Bull Powertrains moniker

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Red Bull set the wheels in motion to set up its own powertrains division in Milton Keynes. The new company had two main aims – to oversee the supply of the Honda power unit until the end of the current formula in 2025, and to develop a bespoke engine for the new rules due to come into force in 2026.

Horner successfully headhunted several key players from Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains, notably Ben Hodgkinson, who was named technical director in April 2021. Other key ex-HPP hirings soon followed.

Over 100 people have now transferred straight from Honda’s European division to Red Bull Powertrains, while earlier this year it was announced that erstwhile F1 boss Masashi Yamamoto had left the manufacturer to become a consultant, liaising between Red Bull and Japan.

The original plan was for Honda to supply complete power units in 2022 before RBP took over their assembly. Marko subsequently revealed that the engines will continue to come from Japan until 2025. That will help Honda preserve its IP, while also ensuring that RBP is seen as a new supplier in 2026, and can therefore benefit from concessions such as extra dyno time.

Full details of Red Bull’s long-term plan, including the possible involvement of the Volkswagen Group, have yet to be confirmed.

Honda will remains involved in Red Bull's efforts, albeit not in a formal capacity, until the new regulations arrive in 2026

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