HONDA The Power of Dreams

Honda, which ended its F1 activities after the 2021 season, entered into a technical partnership with Red Bull Powertrains (RBPT) for the 2022 season, providing power units (PUs) and support. This year also introduced mandatory use of environmentally-conscious E10 fuel (gasoline containing 10% renewable energy fuel). Honda supported the development of power units compliant with this specification and assisted RBPT in supplying power units to Red Bull and AlphaTauri.

Chassis regulation changes, postponed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, were also implemented starting this year. The most distinctive change was the adoption of ground effect cars, which generate more downforce through the aerodynamic effect of the car floor. The aim was to increase overtaking by controlling rear turbulence, promoting closer competition.

These major changes to the cars, including PUs, would reshape the competitive landscape of F1.

As the season began, Ferrari demonstrated devastating speed. Ferrari’s early start to developing their cars for the new regulations had paid off with a 1-2 finish in the season-opener, and were seemingly poised to lead the 2022 season. However, it was Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who broke their momentum.

Verstappen, who had claimed his first win of the season in Round 2, Saudi Arabia, retired in the following round in Australia due to a mechanical issue while running in second. This allowed Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to secure his second win. While Ferrari led in terms of speed, Red Bull was also competitive in the early stages of the season.

Round 4, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, was held at Imola, Italy. The Sprint format, newly introduced the previous year, continued this season, with this event hosting its inaugural Sprint race. Verstappen won the Sprint, covering approximately 100km over 21 laps. He secured the victory by overtaking Leclerc, who was leading but struggling with tire degradation, on Lap 20. Teammate Sergio Pérez finished 3rd from a 7th grid start. This result was significant as, up until this year, sprint race results influenced the starting grid for the race. Verstappen secured pole position for the race, and Pérez 3rd on the grid, giving Red Bull excellent positions.

The 63-lap race began under wet conditions. Every car started on intermediate tires, making the timing of changing to dry tires a key early-race factor. While both Red Bull cars were off to strong starts, Leclerc’s was not. The other Ferrari, driven by Carlos Sainz, retired after an incident just after the start. Red Bull established a solid 1-2 position. Their advantage remained unchanged during the tire changes, but Leclerc mounted a fierce charge on second-place Perez in the latter stages. Leclerc, however, spun and lost places on Lap 53, failing to threaten Red Bull’s 1-2 lead. Verstappen took his second win of the season without incident, with Perez following to complete a Red Bull 1-2.

The race highlighted Red Bull’s overall strength over Ferrari’s superior pace. From here, the season’s momentum shifted, with Red Bull on an unbeatable trajectory.

As the 2022 season reached its midpoint, Max Verstappen had dominated with 8 wins from 13 races. Qualifying was a close battle for pole position as Ferrari showed pace, but in the race, Verstappen’s supreme driving skills and Red Bull’s package prevailed, giving him a commanding lead both in race wins and championship points. The continuous updates to the Red Bull RB19 throughout the season also paid off, significantly improving overall performance and contributing to Verstappen’s dominance.

After the summer break, at the season’s 14th round, the Belgian Grand Prix, many teams opted to change their power units, exceeding the annual usage limit. This was a strategic move to boost competitiveness for the second half of the season. At Spa-Francorchamps, where overtaking is easier, the disadvantage from grid penalties could be more readily offset by the advantages of a new power unit. Red Bull was no exception, deploying the fourth power unit for Verstappen’s car.

As planned, Verstappen set an dominating qualifying time, 0.636 seconds ahead of his closes rival. Despite starting the race from 14th due to a grid penalty, Verstappen climbed through the field at a relentless pace once the race started. By the end of Lap 1, Verstappen was 8th. By Lap 8, 3rd. By Lap 11, 2nd, And after just 12 laps, the race leader. Verstappen pitted on Lap 15, temporarily dropping to second, but reclaimed the lead on Lap 18, from which he dominated, cruising to a commanding victory. The outstanding pace in qualifying carried seamlessly into the race, securing Verstappen’s ninth win of the season. He later commented that this was his best race of the season, saying both the car’s condition and his driving were perfect. Verstappen had also won the previous round in Hungary from 10th on the grid. This was the first time, for back-to-back wins from grid positions 10th or lower, since Bruce McLaren won from 10th in the 1959 season finale and from 13th in the 1960 season opener.

Teammate Sergio Perez, starting from second on the grid, finished second, cementing Red Bull’s fourth 1-2 finish of the season. HRC Chief Mechanic Yoshino Makoto joined the Red Bull drivers on the podium. This solid victory firmly established that Verstappen and Red Bull would continue to lead the championship well into the second half of the season.

After winning three consecutive races from Round 14, in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Italy, Max Verstappen finished 7th in Round 17, Singapore, where the championship title was could have been won. At the earliest, his back-to-back championship victory would have to wait until Round 18 in Japan.

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Japanese GP had been canceled in 2020 and 2021. However, in 2022, Formula 1 returned to Suzuka Circuit. Although this was after Honda’s withdrawal from F1 activities, its position as a team supporter through the partnership with Red Bull made it Honda’s home race. Furthermore, it was also Yuki Tsunoda’s first home Grand Prix, with AlphaTauri.

In qualifying, Verstappen narrowly edged out Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for pole by one-hundredth of a second, raising expectations for the championship win. Race day was hit by rain. Although the start went ahead as scheduled at 2:00 pm, conditions were poor. Chaos erupted from the opening lap, needing a safety car deployment. By the second lap, the race was red-flagged and suspended.

Waiting for weather improvement was in vain, as conditions failed to improve. After roughly two-hours, the race resumed behind the safety car. At this point, the top three order was Verstappen, Leclerc, and Sergio Perez. After three laps behind the safety car, the race resumed with a rolling start. Verstappen pulled away from the rest of the field, establishing a dominant lead. Originally scheduled for 53 laps, the race was shortened to 28 laps due to the three-hour rule, which included the interruption time. Perez, third, engaged in a fierce battle with Leclerc in second. On the final lap, Leclerc overran at the chicane but managed to hold onto second place. However, this off-track excursion was ruled a violation, resulting in a five-second penalty. This allowed Perez to move up to second.

Verstappen dominated Japan with a commanding win, finishing over 25 seconds ahead of the field for his 12th victory of the season. Symbolizing their enduring partnership, Yasuaki Asaki, HRC’s Head of F1 Power Unit Development, joined Verstappen on the podium. With this win and Perez promoted to second, Verstappen secured an insurmountable points lead in the standings, clinching the championship title at Suzuka. Red Bull gained its fifth 1-2 finish of the season, placing it on the verge of clinching the Constructors’ Championship.

Verstappen continued his winning streak in Round 19, the United States Grand Prix, securing the Constructors’ Championship for Red Bull. This marked the long-awaited double title victories for the team and its supporting partner, Honda. Verstappen then claimed his third consecutive win in Round 20, Mexico. This was his 14th win of the season, setting a new record for the most wins in a single season.

At the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen capped off the 2022 season with a perfect victory, symbolizing the entire campaign. This brought his season win total to 15, extending the record for most wins in a single season. With outstanding speed and dominance, he achieved back-to-back championships, making it a season that seemed to herald the arrival of the Verstappen era. The battle for second place in the Drivers’ Championship saw Leclerc and Perez tied heading into the final race, with Red Bull’s total championship dominance on the line. Leclerc, running third, attempted a one-stop strategy aiming for an upset. Perez, on a two-stop strategy, mounted a fierce charge but fell 1.3 seconds short, finishing third. Perez ultimately ended the season in third place in the standings.

AlphaTauri, expected to build on the previous year’s progress, struggled throughout the season with an unstable car. Pierre Gasly finished 14th in the standings, while Yuki Tsunoda was 17th. The team finished ninth in the Constructors’ Championship, a tough result marking a three-place drop from 2021.