Max Verstappen Pleasantly Surprised and Happy About Lack of Mechanical Retirements

Max Verstappen has openly admitted that the Honda power has exceeded his expectations on the reliability front. He expected the 2019 season to be littered by many mechanical retirements while Red Bull got used to the Honda power unit. In the process, he praised the Japanese manufacturer for a lack of DNFs.

So far this season, the Dutchman failed to see the chequered flag in one race. That was when he collided with Kimi Raikkonen at the first corner of the Belgian Grand Prix. However, that was an on-track reason, and not a mechanical failure, so this season has been a real testament to Honda’s reliability

It was a far cry from Red Bull’s final season with Renault, where they were beset by poor reliability. Admittedly, the French team and customer McLaren have suffered from technical issues yet again this year. The good news is that, McLaren have become a lot more competitive and are aiming for ‘best of the rest’.

Honda had a history of reliability woe with McLaren, and Verstappen confessed that he expected the same at Red Bull.

“I kind of expected to have a few technical DNFs,” he divulged to his official website. “I don’t mean that in a negative way, but in a first year with Honda, things can always go wrong. Luckily it’s been good on the reliability front. Honda have done a great job with that.

“[It is] not really a relief. More a really good and nice feeling.”

Since joining hands with Honda, Max Verstappen delivered Honda’s first podium, pole position and a couple of race victories. Granted, the Dutchman has seen his title challenge fizzle out, as the team’s good form came too late. However, he wants to change that in 2020, his last chance to become F1’s youngest world champion.

“I remain positive,” he said. “Of course, we expected a bit more but next year is a new opportunity. Everyone is working hard to start the next year well, so let’s see.”

“They are realistic. They are happy with the reliability but they want to improve.”