Helmut Marko, Red Bull F1 Motorsports Advisor, said it was “not easy” to convince Honda to stay in F1 in 2017.
Honda’s contribution to Max Verstappen’s first F1 World Champion has been highly regarded since the decisive race in Abu Dhabi last year.
However, by the time of 2017, when the partnership with McLaren failed, Honda already wanted to quit F1.
At the time, Red Bull Racing was still powered by Renault’s engine, but the collaboration was nearing its end. And Helmut Marko managed to convince Honda to stay in F1.
“When I found out that McLaren wanted to get rid of Honda, I immediately got in touch with him. It wasn’t easy to convince Honda to continue in F1. They still wanted to go out. I told Formule1.nl.
Helmut Marko got important information from his contacts to convince Honda.
“Do you know AVL? A company with 12,000 employees, 80% of whom are engineers. Headquartered in Graz, developing engines and test benches. They have over 50 million euros in Honda. We were supplying the equipment, “says Helmut Marko.
“Next, I got the information that Honda has an unrivaled high-tech factory in Sakura. Everyone is wearing a lab coat and the site is 53 hectares. Next was the problem of typing the correct string. And thank you for it working. “
Helmut Marko said the deal with Honda played an important role in the deal negotiations with Max Verstappen.
“In the long run, I was worried that he would go somewhere when he couldn’t get a championship car,” Helmut Marko said.
“That’s why the first contract extension was so important. Honda played a huge role in it. Their arrival provided Max with a perspective.”
“When the deal with Honda was signed in Monte Carlo, I told Honda’s president in a camper van downstairs.”
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Category: Category: F1 / Red bull / Honda F1