Verstappen thanks Honda for strong engine: "Thanks for that"

"It is a great day and I am happy to be here," Verstappen is quoted by his own website at the event. The Dutchman calls it "amazing" that so many fans have travelled to the Motegi circuit. "And I want to thank Honda immensely for organising this day," he said.

Verstappen also took a quick look back at last season, in which he became Formula 1 world champion for the second time. "That's a great feeling. It's been two incredible years. This year was even better. To achieve that together with Honda, and all the efforts they have put in last years, to then be here today, to have won two titles together, that's a great feeling." That he managed to grab his title in Japan of all places, Verstappen calls the best scenario possible.

Honda has been very important

There is no longer a Honda engine this year, but a Red Bull Powertrains powerplant. Still, the Japanese have had a significant share in the strong performance of the power unit that was in the RB18. Verstappen thanked the Japanese extensively for that. "It's very nice to work with Honda. This year we had a lot of power. You could obviously see that on the straights, where we were one of the fastest. That helps a lot and contributed a lot to the success we had with Red Bull this year. Thank you for that."