Breaking news
Formula 1
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Honda's Formula 1 boss says Max Verstappen's relationship with the company is like seeing that of a young Ayrton Senna.
Scott Mitchell
Published: Jan 3, 2020, 12:01 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Verstappen ended Honda's podium and win droughts in 2019, the first year of its new partnership with Red Bull, and praised the manufacturer regularly throughout the season.
He also pointed to the Honda badge on his race suit when he stepped onto the podium at the Austrian Grand Prix, the scene of Honda's first F1 win in 13 years.
Verstappen's three victories in 2019 have already moved him level with the likes of Keke Rosberg and Gerhard Berger on Honda's list of winners.
That list is topped by three-time world champion Senna, who won 32 grands prix and three world titles between 1987 and 1992 using Honda engines.
Honda's F1 managing director Masashi Yamamoto told Motorsport.com: "As Honda, we see him as a very important factor with Honda's project.
"He's young, but his driving is really impressive. It looks like seeing a young Senna, with his relationship with Honda.
"Max maybe pays respect to Honda. He feels Honda is familiar. And then probably the badge he showed on the podium in Austria proved that he was very happy as well.
"This gives us an emotion that we want to provide a good engine for him. Of course, all the four drivers are very important for us."
Read Also:
- Honda's attention to detail has impressed Verstappen
- Honda hitting targets key to building Red Bull trust
Verstappen told Motorsport.com last year that Honda's working practices were aligned with his and he also enjoyed seeing how emotional the manufacturer got when it achieved success.
Yamamoto said the 22-year-old had developed a close affinity to the brand.
"The passion we showed towards winning made the relationship stronger with him," said Yamamoto. "He also has been to the F1 R&D centre and our mass production site.
"There's many, many people [working at those facilities] and he has actually seen it. He went through a tunnel of people getting high fives, like one kilometre long!
"That kind of thing maybe gave him a stronger impression about Honda, and a stronger commitment to Honda."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Haas was "blindsided" by strong 2018 season
Next article Bottas aims to make Mercedes renewal a "no-brainer"
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Scott Mitchell
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Formula 1
Formula 1
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
Formula 1
Formula 1
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
Vasseur: Giovinazzi Spa crash almost cost him his seat
Formula 1
Formula 1
Vasseur: Giovinazzi Spa crash almost cost him his seat
More from
Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen stars with 15-place charge in 45 minutes: 'I learned a lot and had fun'
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
Portimão
8 h
Max Verstappen stars with 15-place charge in 45 minutes: 'I learned a lot and had fun'
Nicki Thiim's cheeky F1 jab: "Max Verstappen just wants to drive a proper race car!"
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
Nicki Thiim's cheeky F1 jab: "Max Verstappen just wants to drive a proper race car!"
More from
Red Bull Racing
How Geri Halliwell helped Christian Horner deal with fan hate
Formula 1
Formula 1 7 h
How Geri Halliwell helped Christian Horner deal with fan hate
Did Max Verstappen already know the impact of Red Bull’s big upgrade when he signed his new deal?
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Did Max Verstappen already know the impact of Red Bull’s big upgrade when he signed his new deal?
Latest news
WEC Barcelona: Toyota scores dominant 1-2 to seal manufacturers’ title
WEC
WEC WEC
Barcelona
2 h
WEC Barcelona: Toyota scores dominant 1-2 to seal manufacturers’ title
Hailie Deegan eying NASCAR Truck return but future plans remain uncertain
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Phoenix
2 h
Hailie Deegan eying NASCAR Truck return but future plans remain uncertain
When Can-Am made its controversial comeback
General
When Can-Am made its controversial comeback
Yamaha boss on MotoGP changes under Liberty: 'We must be careful not to lose our fans'
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Japanese GP
5 h
Yamaha boss on MotoGP changes under Liberty: 'We must be careful not to lose our fans'
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe