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Max Verstappen has praised his and the Red Bull F1 team's relationship with Honda since the commencement of their partnership. The newly crowned world champion explained their work relationship which has benefitted both sides in delivering the desired results.
Speaking at the FIA Champion’s press conference ahead of the FIA Annual Prize Giving ceremony, Max Verstappen described the relationship with Honda:
“Starting with us, we also believed in the project and we really wanted to succeed together and be successful and we were already very emotional when we had our first win together. And it only got better from there, also because they never gave up, they always kept pushing and believing that they could do it. Over time you could really see that progress.”
According to the Dutchman, Honda’s relentlessness to produce a competitive engine is one of the reasons for his success. Max Verstapen’s Honda powered car won 10 races in the season, two more than Mercedes, who have dominated the V6 era of the sport.
Explaining Honda’s emotional reactions after he won, Max Verstappen said:
“Everyone in Honda are very passionate and very emotional as well, so i can fully understand that after the race they were hugging each other and crying. But they were already crying at out first race win so it has been really amazing to work with them as well.”
Honda employees were just as joyful and emotional about Max Verstappen's title at the last race in Abu Dhabi as the Red Bull F1 team personnel. They were seen commemorating the Dutchman's victory in the pit-lane. It was an emotional scene with a fitting goodbye as they will now quit F1 officially on a high with a champion of their own.
Max Verstappen is the first race-winner for Honda since Ayrton Senna in 1991
Max Verstappen’s victory has made him the first Honda-powered world champion since Ayrton Senna in 1993. He is also the first driver to claim a victory with a Honda engine at the Austrian Grand Prix in 2019, since Ayrton Senna in 1993. Since then, the Dutchman has claimed 15 victories and 39 podiums in total for the Japanese manufacturer.
