How an awful F1 project went on to win a championship

Honda's F1 engine project was going so badly with McLaren from 2015-17 that the manufacturer seriously considered giving up and walking away rather than trying to put it right. In this video Scott Mitchell explains how that outcome was prevented, and the key steps on the journey that led to the Japanese manufacturer claiming its first world title win since 1991 with Ayrton Senna

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#F1 #Honda #MaxVerstappen

[Firebolt]

Honda leaving when they are actually doing well in F1.
*Traditions*

[spamletap]

The Honda engine was amazing, Christian Horner did say if max didn’t crash in Silverstone, he wouldn’t have taken an engine penalty for the whole season. If we compare the reliability to the Mercedes’, Honda was a step ahead.

[tomahawkmedia]

From the worst engine for reliability to the best engine for reliability. Such an amazing end for Honda in the Hybrid era.

[still_guns]

In 2017, I was saying that Honda should just quit, despite wanting them to do well.

Now in 2022, I'm wishing they would stay, wanting them to keep doing well.

[skygrasper_]

That follow-up collaboration with HondaJet to design the blades inside the turbocharger is actually genius, drawing from HondaJet's expertise of designing turbines. Granted it's a significantly scaled down version of what they usually work on, but still a turbine.

[CrimsonRegalia]

I wonder what’s it’s like to have someone believe in you the way Franz Tost did for Honda… (I cry)

[BOABModels]

Very sad to see them leave - they are by far the strongest Japanese manufacturer in F1 history

[Ginbaubabe]

Honda’s success with RBR is a real feel good story, and also a read showcase of Honda’s engineering capabilities. Wish that success could have continued.

[AaronShenghao]

“GP2 engine” to winning champions… that is an underdog story we all craved.

[yahyarajaee]

I’m sad to see them leave for several reasons:
- more engine manufacturers means more diversity which leads to more opportunity.
- more competition which pushes everyone to up their game and with this salary cap and new regulations, there are less excuses than before.

[ningzhenglee]

That Tarantino introduction of Franz Tost made my day, love it!

[frozenburrito]

I can’t express how much I loved the 2021 Honda engine sound. The turbo is so loud and I love it!
Best hybrid engine sound!

[slevingaius]

Gotta love this story of Honda and the unsung hero Franz Tost with Torro Rosso... Pity they had to leave when things were getting much better. Impressive progress with relations and development.

As Chris Horner said "Maybe one day they will be back".

[leeharding]

It’s a shame they left F1 but it’s a lesson to us all on many levels. Even after all the disappointments and failures they dusted themselves off took a deep breath and tried harder.

[darwingarcia]

Honda admit power unit has many flaw but mclren doesnt admit they have also flaw on chasis

[ianblair]

"Franz Tost (5:09) said that drivers shouldn't be paid more than 10 million a year, and that drivers should just be happy to drive the car. Your thoughts Lewis?"

"Who said that?"

"Franz Tost" 5:09

"Who's he?"

"Everbody knows that the team principle of Alpha Tauri is Fa-ronzz Tossst." 5:09

[binator]

Watching the "Behind the Scenes" Video from the last GP really shows the appreciation Honda and RedBull developed. It's a shame that they leave :(

[TheEpyonz]

It’s just massively impressive that they were thrown early into development just to play catch up with the rest of the other manufacturers, pivoted from a poor start and built arguably the best racing engine in that time frame. Yes, I’m aware Mercedes’ had a faster engine but I don’t think it deserves a higher praise because they didn’t have the reliability of the Honda power unit. Mercedes had to take a few more engines to run it to the end strongly whereas Honda PU was running strong all year without the drop off. Honda is one of the greatest engine builders.

[purwantooke]

Massive thank you to Franz Tost for trusting Honda when they're at their lowest

[Mennoo_]

The split between Honda and McLaren after 2017 was the best thing that could have happened for both McLaren and Honda.

McLaren struggled year afterwards as well, finally facing that it wasn't only the engine, but also the operation of the team that was wrong and needed change in order to be succesful (the change which did happen perfectly under Brown and Seidl).
And Honda getting their restart, and the opportunity from RedBull (Talking about Redbull here as both ToroRosso-RedBullRacing) to develop in a way Honda found necessary, and not the customer-team