And To The Top
June 2019. Red Bull Honda’s Max Verstappen won a hard-fought victory in Round 9, Austria. It was the first victory in Honda’s fourth phase. Standing on the podium, Verstappen pointed to the Honda logo on his chest with a big smile. The team then sent out Toyoharu Tanabe to accept the constructors’ trophy. It was the first time in his long racing career that Tanabe had been on the podium.
Tanabe recalled, “I was so overwhelmed with emotion, I could not speak. I knew everything would fall apart if I did.” Tanabe was recalling the hard times his predecessors had suffered.
2019 racing cars Aston Martin Red Bull Racing RB15
RA619H power unit (PU) for the 2019 season
Max Verstappen, winner of Austrian GP
June 2019. Red Bull Honda’s Max Verstappen won a hard-fought victory in Round 9, Austria. It was the first victory in Honda’s fourth phase. Standing on the podium, Verstappen pointed to the Honda logo on his chest with a big smile. The team then sent out Toyoharu Tanabe to accept the constructors’ trophy. It was the first time in his long racing career that Tanabe had been on the podium.
Tanabe recalled, “I was so overwhelmed with emotion, I could not speak. I knew everything would fall apart if I did.” Tanabe was recalling the hard times his predecessors had suffered.
“My predecessors would spend days and nights trying to get the PU to fire up, worked all night to fix it, only to have it break down immediately, and had to replace it again. They were beaten up from outside, and beaten up from within. We were in such a situation that we wondered if we could really believe in ourselves, but we kept on believing in our own technology. Thanks to all those people, I think we were able to win.” (Tanabe)
But Mercedes, which had dominated the title since 2014, remained in control. 2019 saw Red Bull Honda win three races, while Mercedes won 15. In 2020, when the start of the season was delayed by four months and more than 10 races were postponed or cancelled, including the Japanese Grand Prix, due to the spread of COVID-19, Mercedes’ dominance remained unchanged, extending its record of consecutive drivers’ and constructors’ championships to seven.
Honda’s first win since returning to F1 in 2015, at Round 9, Austria (June 2019)
Pierre Gasly drives his Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda tovictory at Round 8, Italy (September 2020)
RA621H PU for 2021 season
Max Verstappen wins drivers’ championship at final roundin Abu Dhabi (December 2021)
Red Bull RB18 (2022 season)
In the second half of the season, the end of Honda’s F1 participation by the end of 2021 was suddenly announced on October 2. “Honda’s goal is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, and to do so, we will concentrate our management resources,” said then president Takahiro Hachigo.
Tanabe was involved in Honda’s second, third and fourth phases of Honda F1, and had witnessed Honda’s withdrawal in each case as well.
“It is painful to be told that a project you have put all your energy into is coming to an end. This time it is even more regrettable, especially since we have built a very good relationship with the two teams in the Red Bull family. But I will keep on fighting to win so I have no regrets.“
Following Honda’s decision to terminate its F1 activities, Asaki decided to introduce a newly designed PU for the following season, 2021. This new framework PU was scheduled to be introduced in 2021, but due to various reasons, it was decided to postpone the launch by one year. But, with the desire to “beat Mercedes in the final season,”
development proceeded at a rapid pace and was completed in time for the start of the 2021 season. The Red Bull development team, which had almost finished designing the chassis for the conventional PU, was happy to change the design to match the new framework.
Asaki explained that due to changing the engine structure drastically, “The new PU is very compact and has a low center of gravity.” The combustion chamber was redesigned to improve combustion efficiency. In addition, galvanization technology from the Kumamoto Factory, which produces motorcycles, was introduced for the cylinder sleeves, and like the introduction of HondaJet technology, this was another example of Honda’s technology transcending organizational boundaries.
In 2021, Red Bull Honda and Mercedes fought fiercely throughout the season. After the penultimate 21st round in Saudi Arabia, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton both had 369.5 points in the drivers’ championship. The battle was brought to the final round in Abu Dhabi.
In the season finale, Verstappen chased Hamilton, and on the final lap passed him to win the race, marking the first time a non-Mercedes driver had won the championship in the hybrid PU era, which began in 2014. From April 2022, HRC, in charge of Honda’s motorsports activities, has provided technical support to Red Bull Powertrains, which supplies PUs to Red Bull. That year, Red Bull showed dominating strength. Verstappen won back-to-back championships and the team took the constructors’ title.
Oracle Red Bull Racing wins constructors’ and drivers’ championships (2022)
“Until 2021,we were desperate to catch up with [Mercedes] with more power, but they always got away from us. But we still managed to win the title. But in the early part of the 2022 season, according to the comparative analysis of engine power and energy regeneration, there was a feeling that ‘Mercedes had also run out of steam.’ I thought we had finally caught up.”
It took five years since returning to F1 in 2015, for Honda to win a race. In 2022, it was eight years since returning to F1 that Oracle Red Bull Racing won the Constructors’ Championship with Honda’s PU technical support, and Max Verstappen won the Drivers’ Championship. After a long period of obscurity, Honda had finally reached the pinnacle of F1.
“F1 is unforgiving,” Asaki said.
“In F1, weak teams keep on losing. I think Honda’s confidence comes from becoming the world’s No.1 in such an unforgiving environment, and has made it the company it is today. I think it is that kind of confidence that has allowed Honda to tackle seemingly reckless challenges.”
Since 1964, 60 years from its first participation in F1, its fourth phase has undoubtedly been the hardest challenge. Honda repeatedly suffered humiliating defeats in the face of the overwhelming strength of the European teams, with Mercedes at the top. Even so, Honda’s belief in its own technology did not waver, and this belief became a company-wide movement, involving engineers who had no direct involvement in F1. It was a remarkable accomplishment that was made possible by the technological excellence of an all-Honda team.
RA271 raced for the first time in Round 6, Germany (1964)
Honda announces participation in F1 from 2026 (May 2023)
FIA has announced plans for F1 to become 100% carbon neutral from 2030. With this goal in mind, new PU technical regulations were announced in August 2022 that will apply from 2026. The focus will be on increased electrification and advanced sustainable fuels, with an increase in the electric output of MGU-K*7, the elimination of MGU-H, and the use of 100% renewable fuels. A cost cap on entry expenses for power units will be introduced in addition to the existing cost cap for teams.
These changes will make F1 more sustainable, consistent with Honda’s carbon-neutral direction, and provide a platform to promote Honda’s electrification technologies. In turn, this will be of great significance for the development of future technologies. This is one of the main reasons for Honda to take on a new F1 challenge, which the company officially announced in May 2023.
As its new partner, Honda signed a factory team partnership agreement with the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One® Team to supply power units to. Together, they will aim to win the championship starting in 2026.
- Motor Generator Unit - Kinetic (Kinetic Energy Regeneration System): A system that recovers kinetic energy during braking deceleration as electric energy and assists the engine drive.
