In a lead-up to a Japanese Grand Prix during which he’ll have a chance to seal his second Honda-powered Formula 1 title, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen returned to the cockpit of a Honda F1 car he sat in as a child. It was a car his father Jos got to drive.
But it’s not a car that Jos Verstappen, or anyone else for that matter, ever got to race.
Thank you Honda for making all of this possible, see you all on track this weekend 🙏 🎌#HondaRA099 pic.twitter.com/WhLvggMMMK
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) October 5, 2022
When talks over buying the impressive underdog team Jordan broke down over whether founder Eddie Jordan could stay involved or not, Honda decided to go it alone, setting up a programme with a test car designed by the renowned F1 tech chief Harvey Poslethwaite and and built by Dallara.
The car, dubbed Honda RA099, raised eyebrows when it rocked up to collective testing and delivered serious laptimes with Verstappen at the wheel. But Honda management began to waver over proceeding with it, and Poslethwaite’s attempts “in desperation” to keep the project going fell through.
And while the F1 design veteran was tragically lost to a heart attack in April of 1999, Honda ultimately committed to buying BAR instead, meaning the RA099 was never followed up on.
The Race’s historic F1 podcast Bring Back V10s covered the story of the car in depth back in 2020.
For a shorter primer, check out our video adaptation on YouTube.
