Red Bull drivers meet fans in Tokyo

This weekend, after a three-year hiatus, the Japanese Grand Prix will be held at the classic circuit in Suzka, with Honda Corporation as title sponsor. Last night in Tokyo, in the large Honda showroom, Red Bull Racing racers met 150 Japanese fans who won this right in a special lottery.

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez performed for the crowd, some of whom gathered at the Honda Welcome Plaza Aoyama, and some fans took part in this gathering online.

Max talked about how he won the World Championship last year, but also about the mood for the Japanese leg of the season, in which he might secure a second title ahead of schedule. His Mexican team-mate commented on the results of the recent Singapore Grand Prix, where he took an impressive win.

Working with Honda, Japanese artist Alabulka presented the racers with Formula 1 posters he had created, and the racers shared their memories of pursuing their dreams since childhood. For example, Sergio said it all started for him at the age of 6, when he first got behind the wheel of a kart in Mexico.

But the audience reacted more animatedly to the story Max told: he commented on an archive photo of him being captured in the cockpit of the Honda RA099, a prototype Formula 1 car designed by British designer Harry Postlethwaite and built in 1999 by Dallara. Jos Verstappen, the father of the reigning world champion, then took part in the testing of this experimental chassis.

At the same time, there was a racing car on the edge of the podium, covered with a cover, and the racers didn’t know which one, but when Max talked about that historic photo, the cover was removed and to everyone’s surprise it turned out that underneath was the same Honda RA099 !

Naturally, both Red Bull drivers have assured Japanese fans that they will try to show good results this coming weekend. According to Verstappen, he is “110 percent” sure he will win the title in Suzuka, and Perez promised that he and Max will win the winning double.