HONDA The Power of Dreams

Having a historic season in 2023, with no major regulation changes upcoming, Red Bull and Max Verstappen maintained dominance unchallenged in the early stages of 2024. Verstappen won the first two rounds, with Red Bull claiming 1-2 finishes, as the same scene from the previous year unfolded. However, at Round 3, Australia, Verstappen retired due to a mechanical issue. His winning streak, which had continued from the previous year, ended at nine.

AlphaTauri was renamed to Visa Cash App RB, continuing the significantly altered structure implemented midway through the previous season, aiming to break away from its role as a development team for Red Bull. Franz Tost, who had long served as team principal since the founding of its predecessor Toro Rosso, stepped down, with Laurent Mekies taking over as principal. Yuki Tsunoda entered his fourth season with the team, with Daniel Ricciardo, brought in midway through last season, as his teammate. The pairing of the eight-time race winner veteran and Tsunoda, renowned for his pace, generated high expectations as did the new team structure.

Honda continued its power unit (PU) supply and support under its technical partnership with Red Bull Powertrains. While PU development was frozen in 2022, efforts focused on improving reliability and refining its usage significantly contributed to Red Bull’s victories. Meanwhile, Honda announced in May of the previous year that it would formally resume F1 activities by supplying a new PU to Aston Martin starting from the 2026 season. Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) was vigorously pursuing the development of a new PU in which the role of electric motor assistance would expand.

The Japanese Grand Prix, traditionally held in autumn, shifted to a spring schedule starting this year. Round 4, the Japanese GP at Suzuka Circuit, was held amidst the full bloom of cherry blossoms, drawing global attention for its stunning views. Though Red Bull and Verstappen’s winning streak had ended, they once again demonstrated exceptional speed at Suzuka, dominating qualifying. Verstappen took pole position, with Sergio Pérez second, and Red Bull locked out the front row. At RB, Tsunoda fought hard to reach Q3, thrilling the Japanese fans.

The race was promptly halted by a red flag after an accident at the start. Once the race was restarted, as a standing start, on Lap 3, Verstappen defended his lead and began pulling away from the field, steadily extending the gap. While second-place Perez could not challenge for the lead, his position remained secure as the race reached the first tire change. Verstappen temporarily relinquished the lead during his pit stop but soon reclaimed his position. Perez followed suit, and the Red Bull 1-2 finish remained completely unchallenged. Verstappen had claimed his third win of the season, achieving the remarkable feat of a third consecutive flag-to-flag at the Japanese GP. Red Bull secured a 1-2 finish in three of the first four races, demonstrating dominant form, much like last year.

Starting from 10th on the grid, Tsunoda gained positions after the restart and fought tenaciously to finish 10th. While the car’s performance made it a challenging race, he secured the best possible result, achieving his second consecutive points finish and his first points at his home GP.

After winning Round 4, Japan, Max Verstappen claimed victories in Round 5, China, Round 7, Emilia Romagna, and Round 9, Canada, establishing a commanding lead in the championship. However, these wins lacked the dominance seen in previous years. Red Bull, often struggling to get updates to work effectively, was beginning to lose its advantage. Verstappen used his skills to win close battles and staged comebacks, but it was clear that other teams were closing the gap on the champions. The rise of the rivals, particularly McLaren, was remarkable. When Lando Norris claimed his maiden victory in Round 6, Miami, the season’s momentum shifted from one dominant force to a tight battle among the top teams.

Round 10, Spain, was witness to a pole position battle that epitomized the season’s close competition, beginning with qualifying. In Q3, Norris outpaced Verstappen, who had set a blistering time using his teammate Sergio Pérez’s slipstream, snatching pole position from the champion on his final attempt.

Norris and Verstappen battled fiercely right from the start of the race. Norris, seemingly trying to block Verstappen, swayed toward the Red Bull approaching Turn 1, showing his determination to defend the lead. However, during this, George Russell in a Mercedes with its superior acceleration overtook both cars on the outside to take the lead. After the first lap, Verstappen prevailed in the close battle with Norris to take second. Then, on Lap 3, Verstappen overtook Russell to claim the lead. Norris struggled to pass Russell, who had moved up to second, until the first tire change window opened.

By the time the top six had completed their pit stops, Verstappen maintained the lead. Norris, banking on a late tire charge, delayed his pit stop and dropped to fifth. However, Norris then launched a fierce pursuit, regaining second place by Lap 35, ten laps after his pit stop. He began closing the gap to Verstappen, who was around 10 seconds ahead. After the second round of pit stops, the gap between leader Verstappen and Norris was down to 8 seconds with 19 laps remaining. Norris pushed hard to close the gap, reducing it to just 5 seconds, but then slowed. Despite the pressure, it was clear Verstappen was controlling his margin and managing his pace. With masterful race control worthy of a champion, Verstappen successfully held off the challenger. Norris got to within 2 seconds, but victory remained out of reach.

This second-place finish moved Norris up to second place in the standings, while Verstappen secured his seventh win, extending his championship lead to 69 points.

The second half of the season took a completely different turn after Round 10, until which Red Bull’s Max Verstappen had been racking up victories. Since Round 11, Spain, Verstappen had won a Sprint race but failed to secure a GP victory. During this period, McLaren claimed four wins, while Mercedes and Ferrari each took three victories, turning the championship into a fierce, four-way battle. Nevertheless, Verstappen consistently scored points, maintaining his championship lead. With four races remaining, his 47-point advantage over second-place Lando Norris was substantial, even as the McLaren driver’s momentum was clearly building.

Making his move for the season finale, Verstappen deployed his sixth power unit in Round 21, São Paulo. He incurred a five-place grid penalty, but it was an unavoidable choice in pursuit of his fourth consecutive title. The race weekend included a Sprint race, in which the strong McLaren team claimed a 1-2 finish. Late in the sprint race, Oscar Piastri, race leader, ceded his position to Norris, who was fighting for the championship. Norris gained 8 points. Verstappen, meanwhile, finished third but was handed a 5-second penalty after the race, dropping him to fourth and just 4 points.

Heavy rain on Saturday afternoon postponed qualifying to the morning of the race. Rain continued to affect race day, creating challenging qualifying conditions with a constantly changing track surface. Norris, aiming for a championship comeback, took pole. Verstappen struggled to grasp the conditions, failing to advance beyond Q2. Compounded by a grid penalty, he started from 17th, resulting in a starkly contrasting qualifying outcome to Norris.

RB’s Yuki Tsunoda timed his hot lap perfectly amid the changing conditions, qualifying in third place. This was Tsunoda’s best qualifying result to date, raising hopes he could become the fourth Japanese driver to reach the podium.

Rain continued in to the afternoon, leaving the track wet. The race started in chaos, with cars spinning during the formation lap. These difficult conditions and the resulting confusion presented a huge opportunity for Verstappen, starting from 17th on the grid. He climbed to 11th by the end of Lap 1 and rose to 6th by Lap 11. When the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was deployed on Lap 28, many cars pitted for tire changes, but Verstappen stayed out and moved up to 2nd. A crash on Lap 32 then caused a red flag interruption. Drivers who stayed out gained an advantage as they could change tires during the interruption. At the restart, Esteban Ocon (Alpine) led, with Verstappen second and Pierre Gasly (Alpine) third: the stay-out group occupied the top positions. The race resumed with a rolling start on Lap 34, but the safety car was deployed again on Lap 39 due to another incident.

Meanwhile, Tsunoda suffered significant losses due to this chaos. While he maintained a strong pace on rain tires early in the race, holding third place, the red flag immediately after his tire change lost him positions, dropping down to eighth.

Immediately after the race restarted on Lap 43. Verstappen executed a spectacular overtake manoeuvre at Turn 1 on the race-leading Ocon. Verstappen then dominated the remainder of the race, claiming his first victory in 11 races. Norris, aiming to secure as many championship points as possible, finished only sixth, widening the points gap to 62. Having dominated this chaotic race from 17th on the grid, Verstappen found himself on the verge of securing a fourth consecutive championship.

Tsunoda charged hard from eighth after the restart but failed to gain positions. He moved up to seventh due to a penalty on a front-runner, but it was a frustrating race. Teammate Liam Lawson also finished ninth, giving Red Bull its first double points finish of the season.

In Round 22, Las Vegas, Verstappen secured points with a fifth-place finish, confirming his title victory. Verstappen’s fourth consecutive championship was achieved through victories accumulated in the first half of the season and his tenacity in consistently scoring points even in difficult races. However, Red Bull lost the car advantage it had enjoyed in previous years and failed to defend its Constructors’ Championship title, finishing third in the standings.