The Beginning of the End for Honda
It seems like it’s been so long since Honda announced their departure from Formula 1 as an engine supplier. It’s becoming increasingly easier to forget about it especially after Red Bull finished on the podium in P2 in Bahrain. Their sister team, AlphaTauri, also had great success in the race. Rookie Yuki Tsunoda scored his first points in Formula 1 in P9.
The reality is, however, this season will be their last in Formula 1, at least for the time being. Nevertheless, Bahrain showed that with the new power unit combined with new regulations that came in this season, Red Bull has picked up a lot of pace. This pace, Red Bull hopes, will allow them to fight for the championship.
Even with Max Verstappen’s differential issue costing them 0.3s per lap, they were hot on Hamilton’s Mercedes’ heels. In fact, Verstappen nearly had the race win, but had to give the position back as he got ahead of Hamilton illegally outside of the track limits at turn 4.
A Second Driver That Can Challenge Mercedes
With all of that in mind, it begs the question if Mercedes have enough pace this year to continue the 7-season win streak. Perhaps Red Bull could be serious challengers here. While they have a history of unsatisfactory performances from their second drivers, the newest addition to Red Bull’s team, Sergio Perez, seems to have a solid grip on the RB16B.
Perez, who stopped during the formation lap due to an electronics problem and thus had to start last ended the race in 5th place, making up 15 places and scoring 10 points to his name. This is great news for Red Bull, after Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon both couldn’t support Max Verstappen’s fight with the Mercedes.
The Year of the (Red) Bull?
There are many questions that will Imola will answer, including if Red Bull’s upper-hand will continue, and if Sergio Perez can really keep delivering the performance that Albon or Gasly couldn’t.
Your Take – Honda Heading for the Door
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