This weekend we are celebrating what would have been Honda’s last home race in Japan, what will you miss most about the Japanese GP?
I really enjoy the Japanese Grand Prix so it’s a shame that we will miss it. I will miss the fans the most, it’s always a lot of fun seeing the fans in Japan as they are so passionate about Formula One. I also hope they like the new livery that we have on the car this weekend.
You’ll be racing in a unique livery and race suit this weekend, are you excited to see the car and does it feel special to race in a one off race livery?
It always feels special to race for Honda, even without the special livery. For us as a Team and for Honda to miss out on the Japanese GP is a shame, but it’s cool that we can do something in Turkey instead to celebrate. I’m excited to see the it and it’s really special to have the car look different for a race so I’m looking forward to that.
What are your happiest memories of racing with Honda?
My happiest memories with Honda are of course the wins, especially my first win with them, that was very emotional. Working together with Honda has been such a pleasure and they are super motivated every single race and they are super passionate in terms of delivering the best they can all the time. So it has been really enjoyable working with them.
Last year’s Turkish GP was one to forget, how are you feeling heading into this race weekend?
Last year’s Turkish GP was of course not the best weekend for us as a Team but I think it will be quite different circumstances this year, hopefully the tarmac will be a bit more grippy. I think it will be quite a new weekend in general for everyone, there will be a lot to learn so I’m looking forward to seeing how competitive we are there.
- Max’s second place finish in the Russian Grand Prix was only the second podium finish ever scored by a Red Bull when starting outside of the top 18 on the grid. The other occurrence was at the 2012 Abu Dhabi GP, when Sebastian Vettel finished third after starting from the pitlane
- Red Bull’s fastest-ever race lap at the Istanbul Park circuit still belongs to Christian Klien, who set a 1:26.374 in the 2005 race, the year in which both the Turkish GP and the Red Bull Racing team made their Formula 1 debut
- The average age of the Turkish population is 28.5 years old. This is almost identical to the average age of the 2021 Formula 1 grid (28.2 years)
- Istanbul has regularly been kind to Red Bull Racing through the years. No Red Bull car has qualified outside the top four at this track since 2008
- Checo is one of only five drivers on the grid who raced on this track during its original run on the F1 calendar, doing so in 2011. The other drivers are Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen
