Former F1 World Champion Jenson Button says a relationship with Red Bull was essential to the success of the Honda F1.
Honda F1 returned to F1 in 2015, but the partnership with McLaren was unsuccessful. In three years, he did not win the podium or pole position, let alone win, and ended up with a disastrous record of 133 points in 60 races.
Jenson Button, Jenson Button belonged to McLaren Honda in 2015 and 2016. In addition, he belonged to the Honda F1 works team from 2006 to 2008, and has won the only victory in the third term at the 2006 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix.
“When they returned to F1, I was driving for Honda, and they have come a long way since then,” said Jenson Button.
“We were 2.5 laps behind the leader in our first race of 2015. It’s great to see the improvement and our relationship with Red Bull was exactly what they needed to succeed.”
Last year, Red Bull Honda’s Max Verstappen defeated Lewis Hamilton in the final lap to win the F1 World Champion in the final round of the F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. For Honda F1, it won the driver’s title for the first time in 30 years since Ayrton Senna in 1991.
“I was with them at the start of this (V6 hybrid) project, but it wasn’t easy for them,” said Jenson Button.
“In the hybrid era, they struggled when they first entered. They were clearly years behind anyone else. There were many reliability issues.”
“And I’m sorry McLaren didn’t keep up with them. It’s very easy to blame when it’s not competitive. They blamed the most unreliable part, the engine, by name.”
“But now we’re using all of their experience to work with teams like Red Bull to move forward. I think they’ve found a really good partnership.”
“It’s great to see Honda win again, because the last win before the era with Red Bull was mine in 2006, a long time ago in F1, so I hope they win. It ’s great to see. ”
Jenson Button says he feels sorry to see Honda leave F1 again, but is aware of the economic reality behind it.
“They are so passionate about racing and it’s a shame to see them leave again,” said Jenson Button.
“But I know to some extent how much they’ve spent. It’s a lot of money, so I know to some extent why they want to leave. It’s time to do so.”
“But they had a great year in this sport. It was a nice year for them because it wasn’t the easiest thing for them on this trip.”
From 2022, Red Bull will establish its own Red Bull Powertrains and will take over the operation of the F1 power unit and engine from Honda this year.
Therefore, Honda is no longer in an official position in F1, but Martin Brundle believes Honda will return to F1 again in the future.
“Red Bull is still very generous and wants to maintain a relationship with Honda during the transition,” said Martin Brundle.
“They are back, and we hope the Volkswagen Group, Audi, will join us.”
“Currently, F1 is in the stratosphere, so we can make the decision to come back at any time.”
Category: Category: F1 / Jenson Button / Red bull / Honda F1
