The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will represent the final act, at least on a formal level, of the relationship between Honda and Red Bull. The Japanese manufacturer, which will leave the Austrian team and F1 starting next season – while continuing to provide its technical support to Milton Keynes – wants to bid farewell to the Circus in the best possible way. Notably with the victory of the constructors ‘and drivers’ world titles, which will both be decided with Sunday’s race.
Given that in the panorama reserved for teams the direct challenge with Mercedes appears more complex, thanks to the 28 points of delay from the German team, Honda focuses above all on the fight between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, who could give the Dutchman the first world title of his career. A success that would consecrate him as the second driver to win a world championship at the wheel of Red Bull after the four consecutive championships obtained by Sebastian Vettel between 2010 and 2013.
After the first two free practice sessions, the Honda Technical Director for F1, Toyoharu Tanabe, commented on the outcome of the day, marked by Verstappen’s first place in FP1 on a track with a modified layout: “Today’s times are already over ten seconds faster than last year’s pole – he analyzed – so it is clearly a very fast track. All four cars – Red Bull and AlphaTauri – they had a quiet day. As usual, we will now try to further improve our performance after studying the data. I don’t expect an easy weekend, but there are only two days left for the season. We will do everything we can, right up to the end, to ensure that our battle ends with a championship victory“.
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