Why Honda Are Kings of Worst F1 Timing

Honda’s First World Championships

They won fourteen of that year’s fifteen grands prix (below). Senna took the driver’s title and the first of four McLaren-Honda world championships on the trot. A tough and controversial ’89 followed, marked by the intense rivalry between the McLaren Honda drivers. They still won ten of fifteen rounds as Prost took the title and promptly left for Ferrari, as Gerhard Berger joined Senna at McLaren.

McLaren Honda did not lose a world championship for four years in a row while Senna was with the team. Adding to the two constructors’ titles Honda won for Williams. That also meant Honda remained unbeaten for six years straight in the F1 constructors world championship between 1986 and 1991. Senna won all the of his titles and 32 Grands Prix powered by Honda engines. Thirty with McLaren and two for Lotus.

Piquet of course also won a championship for Honda for Williams in 1987, as did Alain Prost for McLaren in ’89. Senna and Berger ended second in the ’92 chase for McLaren-Honda, before Honda withdrew, again. It had achieved its F1 targets and was suffering the Japanese asset price crisis.

Five World Champions in Three Attempts

Then in the year 2000, Honda made its second return to Formula 1 as an engine supplier in the 3.5-litre V10 era. It initially supplied British American Racing, adding Jordan in 2001 and ’02. Jacques Villeneuve, Jenson Button and Takumo Sato scored several podiums and BAR ended second in the 2004 constructors.

Honda then acquired BAR in 2006 and raced as a factory team with Rubens Barrichello and Button, who won Hungarian Grand Prix (below). But Honda fled F1 a third time in 2008, blaming the global financial crisis. Ironically Ross Brawn brought the remnants, bolted Mercedes engines on and dominated F1 as Button powered to the championship from Barrichello! And then Mercedes bought the team and the rest is history!

It took seven more years for Honda to return to Formula 1 for a fourth time. It reunited with McLaren, Button and Fernando Alonso in 2015. That all-champion turbo-hybrid F1 era relationship however proved barren and McLaren and Honda soon parted ways. Honda then moved Toro Rosso for 2018, before adding Red Bull in 2019.

Fourth Return

Max Verstappen won three races for Red Bull Honda that year and ended up third in the driver’s championship behind Mercedes and Ferrari. Verstappen was the only driver to challenge Mercedes and won another race in 2020 as Pierre Gasly delivered an incredible Formula 1 moment to win the extraordinary Italian Grand Prix for AlphaTauri.

Then Honda confirmed that it would once again withdraw from Formula 1 after 2021. This time to develop fresh carbon-free technologies. By when Max Verstappen had got it right to finally topple Mercedes and deliver that way overdue sixth world title!

“We thank Red Bull and Scuderia AlphaTauri with whom our association with Red Bull began,” Honda boss Toshihiro Mibe admitted. “We also thank our suppliers and all our fans who have always supported us. “For us, this title is the goal we set when we returned to F1 in 2015 and today we have written a new chapter in Honda’s history. “I’d like to thank all the Honda employees who have made it possible — well done, you did it!”

Red Bull Takes Another Honda Title 30 years On

“I would like to thank Honda for their teamwork and support over the last few years,” Red Bull Honda team boss Christian Horner concluded. “We will continue our partnership in a different way, but we look forward to continuing the success.” That’s because Honda has softened its exit following its recent successes and will remain in a joint venture to supply both teams with with power units in collaboration with Red Bull technologies.

How long that continues is a moot point, for with F1’s meteoric public popularity gains of late, the vultures are already circling. Porsche and Audi are known to be homing in on an F1 entry. So with Red Bull there for the plucking for their power needs, could Honda once again inadvertently hand its Formula 1 winning reins to another major carmaker?

Time will tell. As will we also have to wait and see if Honda dares come back to F1 for a fifth time.

Photos: Honda

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Michele Lupini

Once a handy engine and chassis tuner, and a combative racer and rally driver, Michele took up the pen to express his passion for cars, racing and motoring over 30 years ago. He published South Africa’s go-to enthusiast motor magazines Cars in Action and Bakkie — some say against all odds — for a quarter century. In that time, Michele had a hand in nurturing many of South Africa's motoring media leaders. Today Michele keeps himself busy with his a range of international motoring media duties alongside his own theauto.page. And a little racing on the side.