HONDA The Power of Dreams

As the spread of COVID-19 turned from concerns in late 2019 to a global pandemic, Formula 1 was also plunged into an unprecedented season. The Australian Grand Prix scheduled to open the season in March was abruptly canceled just before Friday practice began. The season-opener was postponed until July, and the entire 17-race calendar was rescheduled to circuits that could host races with no spectators or under strict attendance restrictions. It was a season in which the championship was only made possible through the tremendous efforts of all involved in F1.

Honda, which had three wins with Red Bull the previous year, concluded its February pre-season testing smoothly and was poised to pursue its title-winning goal. However, it would be thrown off course by emergency regulations imposed due to the pandemic. Anticipating worsening conditions, Honda halted development for the following year in April. The FIA, considering the economic burden on manufacturers, imposed development restrictions on power units (PUs) that were effectively close to banning updates during the season. This emergency measure dealt a significant blow to Honda, which had planned to enhance competitiveness through updates throughout the season.

The season began in July with back-to-back races at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. Despite being a track Red Bull Honda considered favorable, Max Verstappen retired early in the opening race due to an electrical system issue, and teammate Alexander Albon had a similar problem late in the race. The following week, at the same circuit, Verstappen finished third and Albon fourth, a somewhat resilient start to the season.

Verstappen’s first victory of the season came in Round 5, the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone, UK. While Mercedes established dominance early in the season, Red Bull Honda had been struggling, but it had struck back in Britain.

Starting from fourth on the grid, Verstappen promptly moved up to third. He then focused on tire management while closing the gap to the two Mercedes ahead. Starting on hard tires, Verstappen delayed his tire change as long as possible. He took the lead on Lap 15 when the Mercedes cars on medium compound tires pitted. Although he temporarily lost the lead to Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, who delayed his second tire change, Verstappen regained the top spot when Hamilton pitted, and ultimately won the 52-lap race. This result came from Red Bull’s brilliant response to the increased tire pressure specifications for this Grand Prix, following frequent tire issues at the British GP held one week prior, also at Silverstone. Verstappen skillfully mastered the hard tires in the high-temperature race, outpacing Mercedes, who struggled with tire wear. Honda had introduced a new PU for the power circuit Silverstone, significantly contributing to Red Bull Honda’s first victory of the season.

The Italian Grand Prix, held at the historic Monza circuit, was the eighth race of the 2020 season. Starting in 2020, Toro Rosso was renamed AlphaTauri, reflecting Red Bull’s new apparel brand. This Italian GP marked the 50th race of Honda’s partnership with the team.

This Grand Prix unfolded in an unexpected manner, with the front-runners all fell to the wayside. While luck played a part, it was AlphaTauri Honda’s Pierre Gasly who dramatically rose from 10th on the grid to claim victory.

Starting 10th, Gasly maintained his position early on while aiming to gain positions later. With the battle for 9th deadlocked, he made an early pit stop on Lap 19, switching to new hard tires. This decision ultimately proved crucial in securing victory.

On Lap 20, as Gasly exited the pits, a car stopped on track, bringing out the safety car. The car had stopped at the pit lane entrance, causing the pits to be immediately closed, but race leader Lewis Hamilton was unaware as he entered pit lane. This was judged as a violation, resulting in a 10-second time penalty. Pit lane reopened on Lap 22, prompting cars to pit en masse, pushing Gasly, who stayed out, up to third. Hamilton, leading the race, was effectively demoted to second place due to his penalty.

The race resumed on Lap 24, but Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc soon crashed at the last turn. The safety car was once again deployed, and the race was red flagged.

The race restarted on Lap 28, after a formation lap on Lap 27. Gasly was third on the standing grid. Race leader Hamilton pitted the following lap to serve his penalty after the restart ,and dropped out of contention. Gasly, who had moved up to second with a strong start, took the lead. At the end of Lap 30, Verstappen, running in seventh, retired due to a PU issue. Red Bull, having failed with a low-downforce setup, had a lackluster race at the ultra-fast Monza circuit.

In the final stages, McLaren’s Carlos Sainz mounted a fierce charge on the race-leading Gasly, closing within DRS range with two laps remaining. Gasly, however, desperately defended his position, holding off Sainz by a mere 0.415 seconds to secure his maiden victory.

Honda’s second victory of the 2020 season had come unexpectedly from AlphaTauri’s Gasly. Honda and AlphaTauri alike rejoiced in this milestone win which marked the 50th race since Honda began supplying PUs to Toro Rosso, and the team’s second victory since 2008.

Amid the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic, Formula 1 overcame difficulties by holding races without spectators, and implementing rigorous testing protocols, and reached the season finale. In October, Honda announced it would end its Formula 1 activities after the 2021 season, surprising everyone in the paddock. For Red Bull Honda, who had aimed for the title in 2020, it had been a season where it felt left behind by the reigning champions Mercedes. Yet it refused to give up, sparing no effort throughout the season. It hoped for a strong result leading into the final year of the partnership in 2021. Perhaps this determination paid off, as the situation improved at this final round.

Max Verstappen, who had been fastest from FP1 to FP3, carried his momentum into qualifying, setting the fastest time. It was his first pole position of the season. Second and third were Mercedes cars. Lewis Hamilton, who had already secured his second consecutive title in Round 14, had missed the previous race due to COVID-19 but had recovered in time for the finale.

Pre-race buzz centered on how well Verstappen could fend off Mercedes, but once the race started, such talk soon vanished. Verstappen started flawlessly and maintained consistent speed throughout the race. Ultimately, he remained unchallenged from the start, finishing nearly 16 seconds ahead of second-place Valtteri Bottas. With a dominating and flawless race strategy, Verstappen secured his second win of the season.

That was not all. Teammate Alexander Albon finished fourth, and AlphaTauri Honda’s Pierre Gasly was eighth, which meant three Honda-powered cars finished in the points. Daniil Kvyat narrowly missed outs, finishing 11th. However, all four cars completed the race reliably, and crucially, none exceeded their annual PU allocation limit. This proved the high performance and reliability of Honda PUs.

The perfect victory in the final race was a bright sign for Honda heading into the 2021 season, its final year in F1, and served as an opportunity to regain hope and confidence.