Honda sees Verstappen dominate: "Leading all the way to the chequered flag"

"It was great to finish the season with a win from Max and Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, to bring Honda’s total to three wins for the year," said Tanabe in conversation with his employer's official channels. Verstappen won earlier in the UK, while Pierre Gasly in Monza took the win.

The final weekend in Abu Dhabi went exactly as Honda had hoped, although it came as a little surprise. "Max dominated the race, starting from pole, never looking under pressure from those behind him, leading all the way to the chequered flag. It was a fantastic performance. Alex got really close to catching Hamilton for third place, but there were not quite enough laps to do it," the Japanese explained.

The year 2020 is now over, including for Honda. In addition to Verstappen and Albon in the top four, AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly also scored a few points in eighth place. That was not for Daniil Kvyat, who finished eleventh, as was often the case this year.

"Overall, this was a strong result for Honda to round off the year. The Covid-19 pandemic meant we had a very compressed season. We had hoped to challenge for the championship title with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, but we could not match Mercedes over the year and so it’s clear we need to work very hard to improve our package," said Tanabe.