Verstappen reveals why it was “fantastic working with” Honda in the past seasons

On the back of his dominant display at last Saturday’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, four-time world champion Max Verstappen highlighted his best races with the Japanese manufacturer.

Having secured second place on the grid, Max Verstappen picked off Norris into Turn 1 on the opening lap as the McLaren driver slightly outbraked himself.

Thereafter, the Dutchman managed the race superbly. He absorbed all the pressure Russell threw at him in the opening stages of the race, and managed to build up a bit of a margin from the chasing pack.

Although Red Bull left Verstappen out for longer than his rival during the first stint, the Dutchman had slightly fresher tyres for the second stint which allowed him to escape from the duo of Russell and Norris again.

While Verstappen cruised to his sixth Grand Prix win of the season at Las Vegas, his team-mate Yuki Tsunoda endured another tough race.

The Japanese driver opted to start from the pit lane after his difficult qualifying session. He pitted early to switch from the mediums to the hard tyre, but had to stop a second time and that dropped him back down the order.

Verstappen won all his four world championship title with the power units of Honda. With the Japanese engine manufacturer set to leave the Milton Keynes-based outfit at the end of the season, Verstappen was asked after his dominant victory at the Las Vegas Grand Prix to pick out the three best races for him with Honda.

“My three best races with Honda… I think our first podium together—that was a very big milestone. Everyone was, I think, very emotional. First World Title, because that is always very special, and also for Honda after the initial struggles with the engine, to then basically deliver such a powerful engine, and so strong and reliable—I think that was very impressive.

“And honestly, it’s just been fantastic working with them. I really, really like everyone. They have their own way and own mentality of how they operate, and I really like it. And they’ve always been super respectful. So I will always remember the years that we have been working together.

“Yeah, I mean, to pick the third one is probably very hard, because we’ve had so many great wins together. So I just picked the ones that probably were more emotional and that was definitely those two,” concluded the Dutchman.

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