2020 is Suzuki’s 100th Anniversary with Michio Suzuki having first started his business in March 1920 with the manufacture of textile looms. These became more advanced and very popular right through to the early 1950’s when there was a global decline in the Cotton industry.

Initial development of Suzuki’s first car began as far back as 1937 although this had to be shelved later with the outbreak of the second World War. The Suzulight was first introduced in 1955 and Suzuki experienced a rapid rise in production of mini vehicles after 1959, from an initial production goal of 200 units that year it climbed very sharply in FY 1960 to 5,824 units.

The next major model to be introduced was the Suzulight Fronte FEA in March 1963. Immediately after its launch, the Fronte appeared in the first Japanese Grand Prix held at Suzuka International Racing Course, winning 1st, 2nd and 4th places in the mini vehicle category and proved the high level of Suzuki technology including a newly adopted separate lubrication system called SELMIX.

On 12 August 1968, a driving test was conducted on the Autostrada del Sol to prove the high performance capabilities of the recently launched Fronte SS and world famous racing driver Stirling Moss was chosen along with Mitsuo Ito, Suzuki’s own motorcycle rider who had won the Isle of Man TT 50cc class in 1963 and was the first Japanese Rider to have ever won a TT.

The Autostrada del Sol spans 462 miles from Milan to Naples and had no speed limits at the time except on bends or in tunnels. Moss and Ito arrived at their first transit point in Rome and the news that “Suzuki’s mini-car had driven the 338 miles from Milan to Rome in 4 hours and 27 minutes at a remarkable average speed of 77mph” quickly became global news.

Then, they started towards Naples and drove the entire route at an average speed of 75mph, amply demonstrating the high performance and endurance capabilities of the new car and with an engine capacity of just 360cc, power output of 25PS and a kerb weight of only 420kg.

The Fronte SS 360 had arrived on the market as a new concept and featured a different approach to the Suzulight. The RR (rear engine, rear wheel drive) method was adopted for the first time and styling became uniquely rounded in shape, adopting a complex surface structure known as the ‘coke bottle’ line. The interior space was large enough for four passengers in response to increasing demands for family use.

65 years since delivery of its first car, Suzuki remains globally renowned as the ‘small car experts’ and produces three million units per year. Michio Suzuki’s original strategy of the design and production of lightweight vehicles lives on with platforms introduced for Ignis and Swift. The latest Swift Sport Hybrid weighs in at just 1,025kg.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M Ltd.), today announced the launch of ‘Own-Online’, an end to end, online vehicle ownership solution. A new way to own a Mahindra vehicle, Own-Online is a one-stop, 24×7 destination where the customer can finance, insure, exchange, accessorise and own a Mahindra vehicle in four simple steps, from the comfort of their homes. (www.mahindrasyouv.com/Own-Online).

The customer can now own a Mahindra vehicle in four easy steps:

1. Explore and Personalise – Explore Mahindra’s wide range of SUVs and personalise as per your needs.

2. Get instant exchange quote – Select a dealer of choice and get an instant, real-time quotation for your old car.

3. Choose finance and insurance – Choose from multiple finance and insurance options and get online approval.

4. Payment and delivery at doorstep – Make payment and get ‘contactless’ delivery at preferred location.

Speaking about the launch of Own-Online, Veejay Nakra, CEO – Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, “Today we are delighted to launch ‘Own-Online’ platform, India’s most complete, end-to-end, online car ownership solution. Its easy & convenient 4-step journey allows the customer to own a Mahindra vehicle in less time than it takes to get a pizza delivered! With our pre and post purchase online solutions already in place, reimagining the car purchase experience was a logical next step for us. In the recent times, online has been a preferred purchase channel across categories and going forward, the online purchase of vehicles is set to gain more traction. We are ready to lead this change in automotive retail by providing many industry-first experiences to our customers.”

Own-Online is a seamless solution where the customer can personalise their vehicles, instantly generate an exchange, finance and insurance quotations in a few clicks and make booking payment, making the car ownership journey end-to-end and online in the true sense.

Mahindra’s pan-India network of 270+ dealers and 900+ touchpoints is integrated with the Own-Online platform through robust back-end technology and process cohesion. This will enable a seamless and personalised end-to-end customer experience, offering convenience of online purchasing and comfort of local assistance. Dealerships have upgraded their procedures and processes and are trained to minimise physical contact. In fact, additional precautions are being taken across the customer interaction processes such as test drives, document collection and vehicle delivery to ensure high hygiene standards are maintained.

BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe

Number 8 has always embodied what a dream car means. The two most luxurious models from BMW – the first-ever BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe and the first-ever BMW M8 Coupe were launched in India today. Both models are available to order at all BMW dealerships.

Building upon the dream car heritage, the first-ever BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe lives up to an uncompromising promise on every metre of asphalt. It is a sports car for four passengers. With its highly emotive, aesthetic design, superior dynamic ability and generous amount of interior space, this is the most luxurious sports coupe ever built by BMW.

The first-ever BMW M8 Coupe embodies a perfect fusion of exceptional performance and progressive luxury. Within BMW’s Luxury Class, this two-door four-seater sports car is the most powerful superlative – bold, audacious and uncompromising. Drawing on one of the most powerful engines from BMW M Gmbh, its M genes have been elegantly translated for everyday use. It offers luxurious ambience with the ultimate motorsport feeling, designed to challenge the limits of dynamic performance.

Arlindo Teixeira, acting President, BMW Group India said, “Pioneers who have reached a superior level of excellence only settle for the best. They seek perfection in whatever they do and inspire others to achieve greater heights. It is as much about substance of character as it is about sophistication of personality. For these connoisseurs, BMW is rewriting the definition of luxury and performance. The first-ever BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe is a creation between ambition and emotion, between presence and extravagance – an avantgarde choice for frontrunners who drive the future. On the other hand, with the first-ever BMW M8 Coupe, we are addressing our high performance-oriented customers. When they step inside the M8, they can measure acceleration, sense its power but for feelings, the only measuring instrument is still goosebumps – and that’s what an M8 supplies in abundance. These two top-of-the-line offerings in the uber-luxury segment define everything that captures one’s imagination.”

The standalone character of the first-ever BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe comes alive with a graceful elongated design, athletic proportions and an aura of sporting exclusivity. The two extra doors and impressive space combine with an extended wheelbase and exceptional ride comfort, making it an outstanding operator both in everyday driving and over longer journeys. For those who want an even sportier, bolder avatar of the first-ever BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe, the ‘M Sport’ Edition is on offer.

BMW M8 Coupe

The first-ever BMW M8 Coupe provides maximum performance and a unique combination of racing flair with everyday usability. Excellent handling and supreme steering precision make it perfect for days when one wants to experience its sporting prowess.

The first-ever BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe and the first-ever BMW M8 Coupe adapt perfectly to an exclusive lifestyle and also to personal taste. A multitude of bespoke personalization options are presented right from the moment customers configure their car. In addition, BMW Individual presents the most luxurious choice of special paint finishes, hand-crafted leather, interior trims and other equipment details of the highest quality that are available in a diverse range. Each car becomes a unique reflection of the owner’s personal style statement.

The cars are available as CBU units in BS VI petrol variants. The ex-showroom prices are as follows:

BMW 840i Gran Coupe: INR 1,29,90,000

BMW 840i Gran Coupe ‘M Sport’ Edition: INR 1,55,00,000

BMW M8 Coupe: INR 2,15,00,000

Going beyond the basics of ensuring a safe and sanitized environment for customers, Ford India is going to prioritize convenience as its dealerships resume operations, in accordance to local guidelines.

Dial-A-Ford is what a customer would need to do to bring a Ford dealership to their doorstep. The new approach incorporates enhanced engagement processes and policies related to both sales and service and will be centrally controlled via the helpline 1800-419-3000.

Dial-A-Ford will allow customers to connect with a Ford team and undertake booking, test drive or even doorstep delivery of the new vehicle. For existing customers, Dial-A-Ford will organize pick-up and drop service along with online consultations using technology. Regular updates about vehicle servicing as well as digital payment are also part of the new roadmap.

Customers will be able to experience all this at the convenience of their home, preferred location.

The new approach puts special emphasis on industry best practices related to the sanitization of Ford facilities as well as strict guidelines for people and vehicle at dealerships.

All vehicles in the sales, as well as the service process, will be thoroughly disinfected at the time of delivery, pick-up or drop. Enhanced hygiene practices implemented at all Ford dealers will include:

• Anyone entering a Ford dealership, including all dealer employees and customers, to have their temperature checked with no-touch infrared thermometers
• Dealership layout/floor plan, including customer waiting areas, re-organized to ensure appropriate social distancing
• All Ford dealer personnel and customers to wear face masks and gloves at all times; A hazardous waste container on site for disposal of all masks, gloves and other potentially contaminated items
• Social distancing rules to be enforced in all customer interactions
• All Ford dealerships to be thoroughly disinfected three times each day
• Hand sanitizer dispensers available across the dealerships, in high visibility and traffic areas

“Dial-A-Ford is a manifestation of our Feels Like Family promise where we promise to deliver safe and hygiene standards of sales and service experience without compromising on convenience,” said Vinay Raina, Executive Director of Marketing, Sales & Service, Ford India.

As business look to resume, Ford is offering a three-month extension in availing all scheduled service benefits, including free service, till June 30, 2020, without impacting either factory-warranty or extended warranty.

Customers with vehicle warranties having expired or set to expire between March 15 and May 30, 2020, will be offered a free-of-cost extension until June 30, 2020.

Customers who missed purchasing extended warranty products in the lockdown can also do so until June 30. Also, customers who have booked a new Ford car until April 30 will get complete price protection at the time of delivery, whenever applicable.

As leaders in safety and with a commitment to its promise of keeping people safe, Volvo Car India, has kick-started a unique customer centric approach – #SafestPlaceToBe. As part of this initiative, all Volvo dealer facilities are being disinfected and personnel working at the nationwide dealerships are provided with PPEs and sanitizers. Cars at dealerships as well as the demonstration cars are being disinfected in partnership with 3M.

Following expert solutions are offered to its customers to keep them safe during the post lock down period:

• 3M Interior Germ Kleen which eliminates 99% microbes in a car from interior surfaces including plastics and upholstery.
• 3M AC Vent Disinfectant provides sustained microbial protection by killing 99.99% Antigens.
• 3M Air Refresher has deodorizing property that reduces microbial infections by 99%

As a special initiative towards the digitization of operations, Volvo Car India has also introduced ‘Volvo Contactless Program’ for its customers and also for the prospective buyers. The program aims towards providing the safest way to service and to buy Volvo cars in India. This new digital initiative enables Volvo owners to book their car services online with their nearest dealership location and also provides an interactive online buying process to a prospective buyer, a safe and secure test drive process (post relaxation of norms), digitized finance offers, online documentation and finally an online channel to buy the car and get a contactless delivery.

“Volvo cars is always known for safety technology in our cars and now we have raised the bar in safety by taking measures to disinfect our dealer’s facility and test drive cars. I am confident that the Indian economy will spring back to its pace very soon with the measures taken by authorities. Our Volvo Contactless Program emphasizes the need for businesses to adapt to the current environment with an assurance of safety.” said Charles Frump – Managing Director, Volvo Car India.

Charles Rolls

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars records another chapter in its long story today. It was on this day in 1904 that The Hon Charles Rolls first met Henry Royce at the Midland Hotel, Manchester – an encounter after which the motor car, and the world of luxury, would never be the same again. It is with a fitting sense of historical symmetry that production resumes at the Home of Rolls-Royce today, 4th May, on the anniversary of Rolls first declaring of Royce, “I have met the greatest engineer in the World”.

Together, Rolls and Royce shared a vision to make the future of motoring extraordinary. Henry Royce, an engineer, had a desire for perfection and an innate work ethic that later became the pillar of Rolls-Royce philosophy; “Take the best that exists and make it better.” Charles Rolls, an aristocrat, was an accomplished motorist, experienced in selling imported foreign motor cars. His business partner, Claude Johnson, stepped into the role of Managing Director of Rolls and Royce’s venture and expanded the fledgling company’s reputation.

The company they founded has faced extraordinary challenges and difficulties throughout its 116‑year history. Though still in its infancy, Rolls-Royce endured in 1918 when the greatest pandemic of the 20th Century, Spanish Flu, swept the world. A decade later, it again stood firm when the Great Depression laid waste to the global economy. Over the years that followed, Rolls‑Royce has withstood the shocks of economic and political crises at home and overseas, embodying calm and constancy in a tumultuous, uncertain world.

In its more recent history, the company weathered the financial crash of 2008 and came out the other side more resilient and determined than ever. The marque has always risen to every challenge with ingenuity, commitment, courage and solidarity, so while Covid-19 is possibly the biggest test Rolls-Royce has ever faced, it’s certainly not the first.

For the current generation of the Rolls-Royce family, working from home has been a new experience. For Sir Henry Royce, however, it was entirely normal. Indeed, some of his most influential designs were produced in the private studio he maintained at his home – Elmstead – at West Wittering, just eight miles from the present-day manufacturing plant and global Head Office.

Henry Royce

Royce clearly found inspiration and creative energy in the peace, quiet and solitude that working away from the bustle of the office and factory provided. Famously, while walking on the nearby beach one day, he sketched the initial design for the R-series aero engine in the sand with his walking-stick. A later development of that design, the Merlin, would earn everlasting acclaim as the engine which powered the legendary Supermarine Spitfire.

Royce’s home studio was also the birthplace of another, perhaps less storied engine that nevertheless occupies an important place in the annals of aviation achievement. In 1919, his Eagle VIII provided the power for the first-ever transatlantic flight, from St John’s, Newfoundland to County Galway in Ireland, by British adventurers Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Brown. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars commemorated the centenary of their astonishing feat, and the engine that made it possible, in the spectacular Wraith Eagle VIII Collection Car, limited to just 50 examples, released in 2019.

Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said, “We are living through historic times. Our primary focus is, of course, on safely resuming production at The Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, West Sussex; but in marking this amazing anniversary, we are taking a moment to reflect on what 116 years have taught us.”

He added, “As a company, we can draw strength from the knowledge that although Rolls-Royce has faced uncertainty many times over the years, it has emerged more resilient and confident, with its fundamental principles unaltered. Our present challenges may be unprecedented, but as we look to the future, I am confident there is no company in the world better prepared to overcome them.”

Former Top Gear presenter and motoring authority, Quentin Willson, has kindly put together these fitting words below.

Stirling was one of those rare blokes who only talked about himself if you asked him to. Startlingly modest, he’d shrug off his stellar achievements and always swerve the conversation in a different direction. Thoroughly self-effacing he wasn’t remotely preoccupied with his own legacy but preferred talking about the skills of other drivers. Over the years he became a friend and across a crowded room would always flash his genial, trademark smile.

But I realised just how important preserving the legacy of his contemporaries was to him when I was on the Lister stand at the Race Retro show launching their continuation Knobbly in 2014. Stirling was in his element telling spell-binding anecdotes about driving for Lister in the 50s and regaling us with tales of its can-do team culture and shoe-string budgets. But I remember watching his eyes shine as he talked about the bravery and determination of Brian Lister and Archie Scott-Brown.

Stirling skirted over his pole-to-finish victory in the British Grand Prix in July ’58 in the magnesium bodied Knobbly and told us that disabled Archie Scott Brown, who had died at Spa earlier that year, was one of the most talented drivers of his generation and that Brian Lister was the nicest team boss in the world. I saw a real passion to fill in the gaps in the Lister story. To make sure these two significant faces of 1950s British motor sport were finally, and properly acknowledged. That day Stirling was on a mission for history.

And when we politely asked if he might be interested in putting his name to a limited-edition magnesium Knobbly, he hesitated for an entire nanosecond. No negotiations, no wrangling, no small print. This, he told us, was simply ‘the right thing to do’. For an unfeasibly small amount of money Stirling agreed to the deal with a single condition: that we’d sit with him at home with his scrap books to make sure every detail of the car along with Archie’s and Brian’s contributions were historically and absolutely correct.

Several weeks later Lawrence Whittaker, Lister’s CEO, and I sat with Stirling in his living room and spent a day surrounded by a cornucopia of yellowed newspaper and magazine cuttings. This was one of the most memorable days I’ve ever spent. This kindly, gentle motor sport legend animatedly explained Archie’s considerable disability, fearless skill and prodigious talent. His affection and respect for Brian Lister was clear too and not just because his tiny team was up against the factory back up of Mercedes, Ferrari and Aston Martin, but because he believed in Archie so much. Brian, Stirling explained, knew greatness when he saw it. Stirling inherited his drive in the magnesium Knobbly just two months after Archie’s death and graciously spoke at length of Archie’s ‘astonishing lap times’ in the ‘sweet handling Lister’. He also made it tragically clear that Brian Lister never forgave himself for Archie’s crash in May ’58 and that it haunted him forever.

A true gentleman racer he spent our day together praising others. For me, that day sums up everything you need to know about Sir Stirling Moss. A humble, honourable, charming legend still deeply respectful of the people he raced with all those years ago. Uniquely, he was a man more interested in talking about the victories of others than his own. Stirling we miss you. Rest in peace.

Whilst 2020 marks Formula One’s milestone 70-year anniversary, April has also featured an historic 70 years since Maserati not only competed in the first Formula One World Championship season, but also recorded a famous Formula One ‘double’ win – achieved by two different Maserati racing cars driven by two audacious racing drivers, on two different circuits, on the same day.

This feat began with the 1950 Pau Grand Prix – an official but non-championship Formula One motor race – held on 10 April 1950 at the Pau circuit, in France. In what was regarded as the first race of the 1950 Formula One season, the 110-lap race was won by none other than legendary driver Juan Manuel Fangio in his Maserati 4CLT.

On the very same day across the channel, Reg Parnell completed a Maserati double in his privately-owned Maserati 4CLT, to lift the Richmond Trophy at Goodwood Motor Circuit, marking a Formula One ‘same day double’ win.

At the heart of both these extraordinary April 1950 wins, was the Maserati 4CLT. Developed in 1947, by Alberto Massimino, who became Maserati’s chief engineer, he evolved the Maserati 4CL-derived ‘sixteen-valve’ Formula One/A car to become the 4CLT. The additional letter ‘T’ stood for ‘Tubolare’, reflecting the car’s new tubular chassis frame.

The first pair of 4CLTs made their successful debut in June 1948 at San Remo. Alberto Ascari and Luigi Villoresi finished first and second, earning the model the name the ‘San Remo Maserati’, as they went on to complete an extremely successful season in the shapely new Fantuzzi-bodied cars.

British driver and private Maserati race car owner, Reg Parnell, a haulage contractor from Derby in the North Midlands, became one of England’s leading racing personalities in the 1940s, most notably behind the wheel of his pre-war Maserati 4CL. After acquiring his 4CLT in the years that followed, Parnell went on to win several Goodwood Trophies, as well as The Richmond Trophy both in 1949 and in April 1950.

Maserati went onto even greater success in future Formula One World Championship’s, especially with the 250F, which saw Sir Stirling Moss finish 2nd overall in the 1956 season, and Juan Manuel Fangio win his fourth consecutive, fifth in total, World Championship title in 1957.

To this day, Maserati’s racing DNA very much lives on, with the introduction of the high performance Levante Trofeo launched last year which celebrated Maserati’s racing heritage, to the recently announced Maserati MC20 super sports car which will be unveiled later this year and becomes the natural evolution of the highly successful MC12, which was launched in 2004 and marked the return of the Italian marque to GT racing.

Bentley Motors today confirmed it is introducing a set of around 250 comprehensive and wide-ranging new hygiene and social distancing measures under an employee programme called ‘Come Back Stronger’ in order to implement a safe, phased return to production at the company’s headquarters in Crewe, England, from 11 May. The plan marks the biggest change to daily working life in the company’s 100 year history.

The measures are built around seven key areas – prior to leaving work, travel, entry, preparing for work, work stations, breaks, and exiting the site – and are designed to protect staff at the factory, which employs over 4,000 people and where every Bentley is hand-built.

The key process changes impact all areas, and include a redesign of the manufacturing facility itself to allow a two-metre distance between work colleagues, and one-way movement paths and traffic flows. Facemasks will now be compulsory in all factory and office areas, while Bentley will maintain a work from home policy for those who are able to.

The robust measures will ensure Bentley staff stay as safe as possible at all times. Personal protection equipment – including facemasks, gloves, goggles – will be provided as necessary, both to colleagues and in parallel donated to the local care sector, as well as health temperature checks for staff. There will also be an enhanced cleaning routine and clear guidance to the workforce on limiting the risk of infection on areas such as meeting governance, site access and travel.

This extends to new, stringent measures to control the population density on site at any one time. All entry and exit points have been reviewed and reconfigured to disperse the volume of people, there will be control measures in all catering facilities that limit capacity and allocated distanced seating, and office-based colleagues will work to a newly introduced shift-pattern. This will control the workforce density on site throughout the day, with extra defences also in place such as plastic separation screens in office areas.

A return to work guide, which covers all new hygiene and social distancing measures, is being sent to the home addresses of all colleagues and is available to review on the Bentley Employee News app where an airline-style instructional video outlines the key changes to colleague working patterns.

Adrian Hallmark, Chairman and CEO, Bentley Motors, said: “Throughout this unprecedented crisis, the health and safety of our colleagues has, and will continue to be, paramount. These extensive new working measures will allow both our people and Bentley to come back stronger than ever and even more focussed.

“The time is now right for Bentley to begin a gradual and controlled return to production, while ensuring our sites are the safest place any of us can be. Everybody will be able to play their part to ensure we can continue Bentley’s extraordinary journey into the future of luxury, sustainable mobility.”

Full production is anticipated to resume on 18 May with a later, staggered return to work for office-based colleagues and those able to work from home.

During the shutdown, Bentley colleagues have worked to support the crisis efforts and the local community. The aid will continue despite the restart of production recognising that the need is on-going.

The company is using its specialist skills to 3D print over 30,000 face-shields and supply them to the Cheshire care sector, including all care homes, the NHS and other local community services.

Simultaneously, Bentley is donating personal protective equipment such as gloves, facemasks, safety glasses and seat covers. The company also extended its Bentley ‘Meals on 22 inch Wheels’ service, where colleagues volunteer to deliver essential items in the community.

Seasoned observers never wavered in their faith that Honda would win on their return to Formula 1.

Although Honda had endured a tough time at the start of their return to Formula 1 in 2015, those who witnessed their engines dominating the sport in the late Eighties and early Nineties knew how relentless the Japanese company was in technical development and the pursuit of success.

At the start of 2019 they confidently predicted that Honda would win before the halfway point of the season, and when Max Verstappen won the Austrian Grand Prix in his Red Bull RB15, they were proved right. They understood the mindset that they brought to their F1 engineering, and that while the personnel had inevitably changed the company’s fundamental philosophy had remained exactly the same.

When Toro Rosso switched to the Honda RA 618H for 2018 they found it was markedly different to their previous power unit. Honda continued to employ the same system of a split, shaft-driven, turbocharger that had been used successfully by Mercedes since the start of the turbo-hybrid formula in 2014. There were packaging advantages from the start even though the engine sat further back in the chassis due to the mounting of the turbo’s compressor section at the front of the cylinder block, because the rear end of the power unit was less bulky. This thus conferred a small aerodynamic advantage in shaping the engine cowling and cleaning up airflow before it reached the rear wing.

During that season there were regular meetings which were attended by Honda, Toro Rosso and engineers from Red Bull Technology. However, Red Bull saw enough in Toro Rosso’s performance to be convinced that partnering with Honda was the right way to go forward from 2019, and were particularly impressed that in 2018 Toro Rosso’s engineers had been boosted by Honda’s willingness to work so closely and to encourage input into the packaging of components.

Another plus point was that the RA619H motor was fundamentally very similar to the RA618H, and even the RA617H from 2017, and that facilitated very efficient integration of the engine into the Red Bull RB15 chassis. By the time Red Bull were fully engaged and privy to all the relevant information, team boss Christian Horner was highly enthused by what he had seen and revealed that the integration process was the best they had experienced. It was not hyperbole. In interviews, Horner also disclosed how much his engineers enjoyed working with a genuine engine partner for the first time, rather than with just a supplier.

Toro Rosso had already noted in 2018 that the Honda RA618H was reasonably powerful, and Pierre Gasly had been very happy with its performance even then. When the new RA619H ran for the first time on the in-house dynamometer over the winter of 2018/19 it was clear from the outset that its performance was promising. Horner described it as “a rocket”.

When Max Verstappen first got to try the RA619H in the Red Bull RB15 in the first Barcelona test he was extremely enthusiastic about its performance and said he had no doubt that it had more power than he had had in 2018, but also that it wasn’t peaky, and that there was a wide power band.

The delivery of that power was also an improvement, as it facilitated smoother downshifts which helped to make the car more stable under braking and when downshifting while turning into corners.

The Australian GP season-opener in Melbourne indicated that there was still a slight deficit to Mercedes and Ferrari in outright power, but during the season three separate evolutions of the power unit were introduced and each was an improvement. By mid-season Verstappen believed they were on a par with Mercedes, and by the time they got to the higher altitude in Mexico City, which is around 7350 feet above sea level, it seemed that they had more power than their rivals.

By the Spanish GP, a revised front wing and endplates improved the car’s balance, and then a series of smaller but critical further upgrades in Canada, France and Austria honed that to a competitive pitch. Gradually, as PU reliability improved, the drivers were able to push the engines harder in both qualifying and the races.

The development of power unit and chassis finally paid off when Verstappen won the dramatic Austrian GP on Red Bull’s home turf, to give Honda their first F1 victory since Hungary in 2006. Two races later he did it again with a brilliant victory in the rain in Germany as many rivals made costly mistakes. Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Honda continued to make progress through the rest of the season, but it was towards the final part of the year that the partnership really shone. Verstappen, Red Bull and Honda were back on top and enjoyed the most impressive of their wins as they dominated in Brazil.

So, in the end, as the faithful had predicted, Honda did win in 2019. Not once, but three times. And Max Verstappen placed third overall in the world championship, behind the dominant Mercedes duo. There was strength in depth too, from Toro Rosso, with Daniil Kvyat finishing third in Germany and Pierre Gasly second in Brazil, which made the latter a Honda 1-2. But for an incident with Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages, Red Bull’s Alex Albon might have made it a 1-2-3.

On the basis of such a strong first year together, Honda and Red Bull believe that great things can be possible in 2020 – once some sort of season can get underway.