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World Champion Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
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Special feature

How Honda achieved F1 redemption through Verstappen’s title

When the Japanese engine manufacturer was dropped by McLaren, Red Bull took a leap of faith by switching from its tried and tested Renault customer units. The key players involved in the decision explain how their gamble brought rewards in abundance

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.

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