As the title sponsor, Honda supported the Honda Japanese Grand Prix of the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship Series, the first F1 Japanese Grand Prix (GP) held at Suzuka Circuit in three years. Looking back on the heated battle that decided the Drivers' World Champion, we revisit the significance of Honda's participation in motorsports.

F1 Honda Japanese GP: A nail-biter for motorsports fans worldwide

When we say the “pinnacle of motorsports,” the first thing that comes to people’s minds is Formula One (F1).

Twenty of the top drivers selected from all over the world compete with machines equipped with state-of-the-art technologies, trying to be the world’s fastest while handling the machine at speeds over 300 km/h. Such exciting races are one of the reasons why F1 is so appealing.

For Yuki Tsunoda, a Japanese driver developed through Honda's driver development program (Honda Formula Dream Project), the 2022 Japanese GP became his first F1 race on home soil. ©︎Red Bull Content Pool

The FIA F1 GPs are held in various countries throughout the year, but the 2022 Japanese GP became the first GP held in Japan in three years, since the 2020 and 2021 GPs were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Suzuka Circuit, venue for the Japanese GP, is famous for being a challenging course that tests the true skill of the drivers. As if to prove the high expectations for the hotly contested race, tickets for both qualifying and the race were completely sold out.

Two drivers made the Japanese GP more exciting this year.

The first was Max Verstappen (Oracle Red Bull Racing / Netherlands), who clinched the 2022 World Championship title at the Japanese GP. He competed with Honda's power unit (PU) last season as well and brought Honda the Drivers’ Championship title for the first time in 30 years.

This year, Max dominated the season and clinched the championship title at the Japanese GP. For Max, the Suzuka Circuit is a memorable place where he made his debut as an F1 driver. By capturing his second consecutive Drivers’ World Championship title here, he sent Japanese motorsports fans into a frenzy.

Verstappen wins the F1 Drivers’ Championship for the 2022 season. ©︎Red Bull Content Pool

The second driver who made this year’s Japanese GP more exciting was Yuki Tsunoda, currently the only Japanese F1 driver. Yuki made his F1 debut in 2021 with Scuderia AlphaTauri, becoming the first Japanese F1 driver ever to score points in his debut race. He has been attracting greater attention after finishing fourth in the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP, and because the 2022 Japanese GP was his first F1 race on his home soil.

Tsunoda has secured his seat to race in F1 in the 2023 season. ©︎Red Bull Content Pool

Honda has been supporting Yuki through the Honda Formula Dream Project, Honda’s driver development program. The 2022 F1 Japanese GP became his first F1 race held at his “home” circuit, where he honed his skills as a race driver as part of the Honda Racing School Suzuka (formerly SRS: Suzuka Circuit Racing School). Yuki started the race from the 13th grid position, and at one point was in the points. He went on to successfully complete the race.

Honda is not only the title sponsor of the F1 Japanese GP, but is also supporting the racing activities of Oracle Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri teams again in the 2023 season. Now, let’s deepen our disussion into why Honda keeps taking on challenges in the area of motorsports.

Stronger ties with the teams

At the end of the 2021 season, Honda concluded its participation in F1 in style, winning the Drivers' Championship. However, Honda F1 technologies are still serving an active role in F1 racing as two teams continue to use PUs that utilize Honda technology until 2025.

The two teams are Oracle Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri. Through HRC, Honda provides technical support to Red Bull Powertrains, which supplies PUs to these two teams.

The actual unit of Honda RA619H that was used in the race where Honda won its first victory for the fourth era of Honda’s F1 participation.

In particular, Oracle Red Bull Racing is the team with Max Verstappen, who won the Drivers’ World Championship for two consecutive years. Honda’s position in the motorsports world has changed with the completion of its F1 participation, however, our passion toward motorsports remains unchanged. Because of that passion, we go full out to support these teams, which makes ties between Honda and these teams strong.

To win the World Championship title in F1, the team needs to perfect every element, the PU, the driver, the chassis and the winning strategy. “I think the two teams we currently support understand that we have a strong desire to achieve outstanding work we can be proud of and give everything we have aiming for the top," said Tetsushi Kakuda, Executive Chief Engineer of Automobile Racing Development Division of HRC.

Kakuda is an engineer who has been long involved in Honda’s motorsports activities since Honda began competing in CART and F1 in the 1990s.

An episode that represents such a strong tie between HRC and the team came when Oracle Red Bull Racing won the 14th round of the 2022 season, the Belgian Grand Prix. HRC chief mechanic, Makoto Yoshino, who accompanies Red Bull during the season, stood on the podium and received the constructors’ trophy* on behalf of the team.

* Trophy awarded to the team, separate from the drivers’ trophy.

Kakuda Current F1 PUs consist of a number of complex and highly sophisticated technologies, which require know-how to operate. The Belgian GP takes place at a track where the power of the machine becomes a primary deciding factor in the race result, so I think they felt and appreciated the contribution of our PU. It was a great honor for us to be allowed to stand on the podium, and for all HRC members involved with the PU, it was an event that further inspired us to aim for number one.

Chief mechanic Yoshino (right) smiles on the podium with Max Verstappen (center left) and Sergio Perez (left) after their 1-2 finish. ©︎Red Bull Content Pool

Experience in the category that is at the pinnacle of the motorsports world accelerates the growth of people and technology

Honda has honed its technology to be competitive in F1, the most prestigious stage in the world of motorsports. The significance that Honda finds there is not simply to win crowns of victory and receive attention; the experience gained in the pursuit of the world’s pinnacle brings Honda much growth.

Kakuda Technological development in F1 is overwhelmingly fast, and if you let your guard down even a little, you can quickly be left behind. No matter how hard we work　with all of our soul, we still have to go through humbling experiences. The important thing, however, is that Honda reached the top from the very bottom. I believe that the growth of people and technology through unique experiences is more precious than anything else. The second consecutive World Championship Max captured in this year's Japanese GP was a victory for us, and a confidence booster for us all.

Many engineers work on research at HRC Sakura, the center of Honda’s automobile racing activities.

In other words, F1 is also a place for human resource development, and at HRC, new and young engineers with no prior experience in racing engines can suddenly find themselves working on a racing PU. After gaining experience in F1 racing and achieving a dramatic growth, some of them transfer to different divisions of Honda to apply their knowledge and know-how.

Kakuda In F1 racing, pure and earnest technical competition takes place where success is measured in lap times and race standings. It is an extreme battle where the results are brutally clear, regardless of the company's position. Engineers who have endured this, struggled day after day, and thought through how to become the world’s best, are a precious resource for the company. The meaning of Honda's commitment to support motorsports lies in the fact that we can feed back what we learn in motorsports into various other fields to accelerate development in each respective field.

Kakuda says PUs developed through hard work are like his own children.

Striving to create new value through mobility while also aiming to achieve both carbon neutrality and zero traffic collision fatalities by 2050, Honda recognizes that its associates who create and support Honda technologies are its most important asset.

Kakuda Currently in the world of motorsports, the development of carbon-neutral fuels and electrified systems is actively being pursued. The F1 technology we are working on now should also be part of production models in the near future. Therefore, we must continue to take on challenges. We hope you will keep your expectations high for a Honda that takes on aggressive challenges to develop technologies for the future.