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Max Verstappen holds a special place in a lot of Honda engineers’ hearts due to his success with their power units in recent years, and one mechanic has revealed how the Dutchman blew him away with his professionalism after one race.
During Red Bull’s time as a works Honda team, they enjoyed arguably their most successful period in Formula 1 in the history of the Austrian constructor.
Max Verstappen was, of course, the main beneficiary of the Japanese power. Over the course of the seven-year partnership, the Dutchman secured 66 Grand Prix victories on his way to four world titles.
In fact, Verstappen’s love for Honda runs so deep that Red Bull were considering a ‘risky’ plan to continue their engine partnership with Asaka just to keep the 28-year-old happy.
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Honda engineer details how they were once blown away by Max Verstappen’s professionalism
During an interview with Sportiva Shueisha, Honda engineer Yoshino Makoto was asked about the fondest moments he has of his career in the sport so far.
Yoshino’s account of his time with Red Bull was fascinating, and he shared the following about the four-time world champion.
“When Verstappen won the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix, I was able to stand on the podium as a representative of Red Bull Racing. During the ceremony, I was called by the organisers and went to the waiting room with Verstappen.
“After the race, he was completely exhausted. When he went backstage, and there were no people around, he looked very tired, and there wasn’t much strength in his handshakes.
“But during the award ceremony or when he was being interviewed, he became very energetic. So when I saw him push himself and perform in front of the media and the audience, I was really impressed with his professionalism.
“Even top-class drivers are pushing themselves close to their physical limits and maintaining high levels of concentration until the very end, so I think being an F1 driver is an amazing job.”
With Honda now partnering with Aston Martin for the upcoming season of racing, the collaboration between Verstappen and the Asaka-based company has seemingly come to an end.
However, Honda president Koji Watanabe recently disclosed that he would ‘welcome’ Max Verstappen reuniting with them at Aston Martin, if the Dutchman opted to do so.
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Honda’s new partnership with Aston Martin hasn’t got off to a good start
The early stages of the British constructor’s partnership with Honda has been a tumultuous one.
With Adrian Newey currently heading the chassis front in his new role as team principal, the engine side of things is reportedly causing him ‘headaches’.
What’s more, the reported friction between himself and Andy Cowell hasn’t helped either.
Aston Martin made headlines after becoming mightily close to missing F1’s shakedown in Barcelona last month, and their lack of running at the behind-the-scenes test has now been exposed in Bahrain.
Honda engine gremlins have derailed Aston Martin’s test programme, with things that should have been identified in Montmelo only cropping up now instead.
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