Marko smiles for 'first time in ages': 'Then it's a good win'

For Honda it was already the tenth victory that came out of the partnership between Red Bull Racing and Honda. In 2022 this partnership comes to an end, but for now Honda is doing everything it can to finish with a bang.

In 2019, Red Bull Racing opted for engines from Honda, after it had already proved a success at Toro Rosso. Red Bull Racing continued where it left off in 2018 with engines from Renault, and so didn't seem to suffer much from the switch. The real gains were only made in 2021, with the team now competing for the championship.

''We are doing very well so far, but one mistake from us can result in a retirement. The engine is very complicated. So in that area we keep fighting with engineers. It's important to understand the engine better, and keep checking every part,'' Honda's Managing Director Masashi Yamamoto told the Japanese AS-web.jp.

The tenth win was an important one for Honda and Red Bull, and that was reflected in Helmut Marko. ''Christian (Horner) said to me 'thank you', and everyone at Red Bull let it be known that it had been 'a while since they had seen Marko smiling'. Marko is special, and then when you hear that he smiled for the first time in ages, you know it's a good win'', concludes the Honda top executive.