Red Bull Racing advisor
Helmut Marko reveals in an interview with
Formule1.nl Marko that
Honda almost wanted to get out of
Formula 1 after 2017. Instead, the Japanese engine manufacturer partnered with Red Bull. Marko then guaranteed that Red Bull would win the title with
Honda.
Honda almost out of F1 after 2017
In 2015, Honda returned to
Formula 1 with
McLaren. The marriage proved unsuccessful, causing the team and the engine manufacturer to part ways. Honda would actually already like to quit Formula 1 at that time, but Marko managed to convince the Japanese to stay.
Marko told
Formule1.nl that he had immediately called in his contacts when
McLaren and Honda split up. According to Marko it was not an easy job to convince Honda to stay longer and to make a deal with Red Bull:
"They already wanted to quit at that time."Verstappen stays longer
The Honda deal was very important for
Max Verstappen to stay longer. The Dutchman just couldn't get a championship winning car at Red Bull, which made Marko worry that Verstappen might want to go to another team. Marko let it be known that the deal with Honda offered perspective for Verstappen. After the deals with Honda and Verstappen were signed, Marko promised the world title to Honda.