F1 managing director Ross Brawn has given thumbs up to Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso for their smart work with Honda after Monaco GP results.
The decision for Toro Rosso to switch to Honda in 2018 was questioned by many after the Japanese manufacturer’s troubled time with McLaren. Even before people could digest that, Red Bull also signed up with Honda from 2019 F1 season onward.
They parted ways with Renault after years of association as their move was also questioned by many considering the gap Honda had to Mercedes and Ferrari. Even though they haven’t managed to score the wins so far but they have had two podiums already.
In Monaco, they achieved another feat as they had all four Honda cars inside the Top 10 in qualifying as well as the race with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly in fourth and fifth, while Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat and Alexander Albon in seventh and eighth.
This is the first instance since the 2017 Hungarian GP when all Honda-powered cars finished in points – of course in 2017, it was only McLaren running the power unit. If we go back in time, the last time when two teams ran Honda engines was in 2001.
Even then it was sporadic as 2001 was the sole season in the period with four Honda cars as before that it was in 1988. They were close to getting four cars in points in 1988 but it was only in 1987’s British GP when they actually got it the last time.
“There were four Honda power units in the top eight in the Monaco Grand Prix, a result that would have seemed out of reach for the Japanese company a few years back,” wrote Brawn in his usual post-race column after Monaco GP.
“Its marriage to Red Bull, preceded by last year’s ‘engagement’ to Toro Rosso, is beginning to reap rewards. Much of that is down to the Milton Keynes team, but the contribution from its sister team in Faenza is very important.
“Both for what it did last year and for the way the team is running this season. Plus, between the two teams, they have a group of young drivers with different levels of experience who are proving very competitive.
“Verstappen is a known quantity (even though he still 21-years in age), Pierre Gasly is rapidly finding his feet at Red Bull Racing and over at Toro Rosso, Daniil Kyvat is tenaciously clawing his way back into the limelight after a year out.
“But it’s Alexander Albon who is proving to be the biggest surprise and the most successful of this year’s three rookies. In Monaco, the Thai driver proved he was clever as well as quick, especially when it came to managing his tyres.
“He rattled off no fewer than 40 laps on the softs he’d used in qualifying. It was a well-managed strategy, as was that of his team-mate who stopped much earlier, on lap 21, to switch to hard tyres.
“Two different routes to reach Toro Rosso’s targeted destination of a double points finish and both drivers made the journey look comfortable.” While the Red Bull looked comfortable to score points, the Toro Rosso drivers had to work smart.
Kvyat lost places to be ninth at the start with Albon staying put in 10th. It was then the strategic game they played to go long in the first stint when Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen – the two key guys – pitted under the safety car.
This helped them play their game and have track position with Kvyat finally registering his best result for Toro Rosso, while Albon continues to impress. The Thai racer revealed after the race that it was a team decision to not pit under the safety car.
“It was a team decision, we kind of got through that scenarios and we thought that’s what going to happen if we pit, so that’s why we stayed out,” he said. “To be honest, we weren’t quite there but the team did a great job with the strategy.
“We kind of knew that there is a possibility that if we did pit earlier, we would end up behind the slower cars and eventually as well we made the tyres last, so full credit to the guys with two cars in the Top 10, that’s perfect.”
Here’s how the F1 Monaco GP panned out
Sergio Perez nearly collected two marshals at pit exit
Lewis Hamilton explains his defence against Max Verstappen
Daniel Ricciardo, Kevin Magnussen undone by strategy
Charles Leclerc says only FP3 high point as Mattia Binotto defends his race attitude
Kimi Raikkonen says Lance Stroll did not compromise his Monaco GP race
Valtteri Bottas an Toto Wolff fine with Max Verstappen’s Monaco penalty