HONDA The Power of Dreams

The 2019 season marked the beginning of Red Bull Honda. For its partnership with the top team Red Bull, Honda prepared the RA619H, a reliability-enhanced power unit (PU) based on the previous year’s Spec. 3. This was also the first time in its fourth F1 era that Honda would supply PUs to two teams / four cars.

Red Bull named Max Verstappen as its lead driver and promoted Pierre Gasly from Toro Rosso as his teammate. Gasly had suffered a major crash during pre-season testing in Barcelona, and concerns lingered as the season kicked off.

The paddock and fans were anticipating how the Honda-powered Red Bull would perform as the 2019 season opener arrived. In Free Practice 1 (FP1), Verstappen was 4th fastest and Gasly 8th. FP2 saw both cars in the top half, Verstappen finishing the session 3rd and Gasly 4th. The first day concluded with both the team and Honda breathing a sigh of relief, as the cars showed no major issues. However, the unexpected happened in qualifying. Gasly was knocked out in Q1, finishing 17th. As track conditions improved dramatically in the latter half of the session, other cars set increasingly fast times, and pushed Gasly, believing his early lap time had a safe margin, out of contention. He attempted a late recovery but failed to improve his time, and was eliminated. Although Verstappen made it through Q1, by the end of the session, he had dropped to 10th. Advancing to Q3, Verstappen managed to qualify 4th, sandwiched between Mercedes and Ferrari drivers. This was, of course, Honda’s highest qualifying result in its fourth era of F1 participation.

In the race, Verstappen, who had held onto P4 from the start, delayed his pit stop, creating a favorable situation for the latter stages. He overtook Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel on Lap 31 to move up to third. He closed the gap to second-place Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, aiming for further position gains. Unfortunately, he was unable to overtake Hamilton, but his impressive third-place finish brought relief to both the team and Honda, while also raising expectations for the future. Gasly recovered to 11th place, just outside the points. Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat secured 10th place, the second fastest Honda-powered car to finish in the points. Alexander Albon, the F1 rookie promoted to Toro Rosso following Gasly’s move to Red Bull Honda, completed his debut GP in 14th place. All four Honda-powered cars completed the race, which was another welcome result for Honda.

After finishing third in the season opener, Max Verstappen continued to battle at the front, finishing third in Round 5, Spain for his second podium of the season. By the end of Round 8, he had finished every race between third and fifth places, demonstrating consistent performance. As widely predicted, reigning champions Mercedes dominated early in the season, remaining undefeated since the season opener and claiming six 1-2 finishes, leaving no room for others.

Honda introduced the RA619H Spec. 3 PU in Round 8, France, aiming for improved performance. This PU enhanced combustion efficiency and updated the turbocharger’s compressor to increase the MGU-H’s regenerative energy. However, a heatwave sweeping Europe caused temperatures to rise beyond expectations, preventing the PU from delivering the anticipated performance. With Red Bull’s home race looming the following week, Honda urgently implemented cooling measures under tight time constraints.

In qualifying, Red Bull Honda’s Max Verstappen claimed his second P3 for the season. With second-place finisher Lewis Hamilton receiving a grid penalty, Verstappen was elevated to second, on the front row. Expectations were high for the start, but Verstappen was slow off the mark, and dropped back to seventh. A collective gasp rose from his supporters filling the circuit. Pushing hard, Verstappen recovered to fifth by Lap 9, behind the four Mercedes and Ferrari cars. By the time he completed his tire change, he was already up to fourth. The race entered its latter stages with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc leading, followed by Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas second, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel third, and Verstappen fourth. The focus of the race was whether Ferrari would end Mercedes’ winning streak, but it was Verstappen, charging relentlessly, who would create new drama.

After overtaking Vettel on Lap 50 and Bottas on Lap 56, Verstappen moved into second place. By the final stages, he closed in on Leclerc, who was leading but had started to lose pace. Leclerc held off Verstappen’s aggressive manoeuvres, but on Lap 69, was overtaken by the Red Bull Honda driver at Turn 3. With two laps remaining, Verstappen defended his position to take the checkered flag, giving Red Bull Honda its first victory in a dramatic finish.

Honda had switched the PU’s mode to a setting that squeezed every last bit of power to match Verstappen’s relentless pace. The risk of PU failure increased, but the determination to win prevailed, and Honda was rewarded with the first victory in its fourth F1 era. To honor Honda’s efforts, Red Bull nominated Honda Technical Director Toyoharu Tanabe to stand on the podium.

Max Verstappen, who claimed his maiden victory at the Austrian GP in the season’s first half and secured his second win in the rain-soaked German GP (Round 11), continued to fight at the front, including a pole position at the Hungarian GP (Round 12). However, the balance of power shifted dramatically after the summer break. Ferrari rapidly gained pace, claiming three consecutive victories. The season seemed to be contended between Mercedes and Ferrari, with Red Bull Honda considered to be settling into third place. Between Round 13, Belgium and Round 19, U.S.A.,, Verstappen was on the podium twice, both times finishing third.

However, in the closing stages of the season, Verstappen regained his pace. In Round 20, Brazil, with only two races remaining in the season, he set the fastest time in every qualifying session, from Q1 to Q3, and claimed pole position. Alexander Albon, who had replaced Pierre Gasly at Red Bull for the latter half of the season, was sixth, while Gasly, who moved to Toro Rosso, was seventh. Honda-powered cars were in good form.

The race started with Albon fifth and Gasly sixth on the grid due to penalties incurred by front-runners. Pole-sitter Verstappen established an early lead, with Lewis Hamilton closing in, setting up what seemed to be the final duel of the season. However, two safety car periods brought drama, presenting significant opportunities to Albon and Gasly, who were defending their positions. During the second safety car period, triggered by a Ferrari collision late in the race, second-place Hamilton pitted. With two laps remaining, the order was Verstappen, Albon, Gasly, Hamilton, with Honda-powered cars occupying the top 3.

Once the race restarted, Hamilton promptly passed Gasly and then attacked Albon. After a fierce battle, Albon and Hamilton made contact, causing Albon to drop back. Gasly seized this opportunity to move up to second place as the race entered its final lap.

On the final lap, Hamilton closed in on Gasly on the uphill approach to the finish line and drew alongside. Gasly, however, held firm, defending second place to the end. This demonstrated that Honda’s power output was on par with Mercedes.

Verstappen claimed his third win of the season, and Gasly finishing second. This was the first time in 28 years, since 1991, that Honda-powered cars achieved a 1-2 finish.

Verstappen finished second in the final round in Abu Dhabi, securing his third consecutive podium finish since third place in Round 19, the US GP. He concluded the 2019 season third in the Drivers’ Championship. With three wins, Red Bull Honda was third in the Constructors’ Championship. Toro Rosso improved three positions from the previous year to finish sixth.

Red Bull Honda ended its first season with a clear sense of hope. It was a positive feeling that made the ultimate goal of winning the championship seem realistic.