Red Bull and AlphaTauri to run special Honda tribute liveries at Turkish F1 Grand Prix
MAX erstappen’s Red Bull team will run a special livery in tribute to engine partner Honda at the Turkish Grand Prix this weekend.
Red Bull and AlphaTauri’s cars will race with special liveries at this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix, on what was originally slated to be power unit supplier Honda’s final home race at Suzuka.
The Red Bull RB16Bs of Max erstappen, who trails drivers’ championship leader Lewis Hamilton by only two points, and team-mate Sergio Perez will drive in predominantly white colours with a
ick of red – a nod to the livery used when Richie Ginther secured Honda’s first Formula One win at the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix.
Honda are leaving F1 at the end of the year, and this weekend was pencilled in to be their home race at Suzuka, Japan before the event’s cancellation due to coronavirus restrictions.
Honda have powered Red Bull to 13 victories in four seasons.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: “We had all been looking forward to giving Honda’s Japanese fans a chance to celebrate our extremely successful relationship in Formula One, on home soil at Suzuka.
“With the race falling victim to the pandemic, we just couldn’t let the weekend pass without paying tribute to Honda and its amazing home fans by bringing a little bit of its heritage to Istanbul.
“The livery chosen for our cars pays homage to Honda’s remarkable F1 journey and hopefully we can give fans another victory in those legendary colours this weekend.”
Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda’s AlphaTauris, meanwhile, will feature the word arigato – the Japanese word for thank you – on the rear wings of their AT02s.
Koji Watanabe, Chief Officer for Brand and Communication Operations at Honda, confirmed that the marque had wanted to pay tribute to Honda’s Japanese fans in the absence of a home race.
“Everyone at Honda is extremely disappointed that the Japanese Grand Prix has had to be cancelled,” said Watanabe. “We were especially keen to race at Suzuka Circuit, as it is our last year in the sport, at a time when both our teams are performing very well.
“We also appreciate that the Japanese fans were particularly looking forward to seeing Honda’s last appearance here and Yuki Tsunoda driving in his home race. We know that a special livery cannot replace what would have been a very exciting weekend, but we hope that Honda fans around the world, especially those in Japan, will accept this special livery as a small token of our appreciation of their continued support over so many years.”
AlphaTauri driver Tsunoda would have become the first Japanese driver to compete in a home race since Kamui Kobayashi in 2014, with his Team Principal Franz Tost saying: “It’s a big disappointment not being able to race at Suzuka, especially this year, which was supposed to be Honda’s last home GP.
“From our side, we were really looking forward to our Japanese trip even more than usual because it would have been great to see Yuki Tsunoda driving in front of his own crowd. It’s also a shame because Suzuka is one of the best racetracks in the world and always provides plenty of excitement and the fans really understand the sport, showing their appreciation in typical Japanese style.
“That will have to wait until next year, but in the meantime the simple ‘arigato’ message on the rear wing of our two cars is just a small gesture to say THANK YOU to all our Japanese fans, while racing in Istanbul.”
Red Bull and AlphaTauri are set to reveal their full liveries in due course.
With the (Japan) race falling victim to the pandemic, we just couldn’t let the weekend pass without paying tribute to Honda and its amazing home fans by bringing a little bit of its heritage to Istanbul. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner