Honda technical director Toyoharu Tanabe praised Max Verstappen and Red Bull for their performance in tricky conditions, calling the victory a great reward for the team and staff in Sakura and Milton Keynes. The Dutchman made up for his inability to win in Bahrain by delivering a composed performance at Imola, keeping his cool in changing weather conditions to claim his 11th career victory. While Tanabe was glowing after the performance, he underlined that the work doesn't stop here as there is a long way to go in the 2021 F1 campaign. "A great team performance from Red Bull Racing, Honda and Max Verstappen has produced our first win this season," Tanabe stated on Honda's official website. "Conditions were very tricky because of the rain that began before the start and there were many accidents and then even a red flag stoppage. "However, the team coped with it well and this result is a great reward for our race team and also for all our staff in Sakura and Milton Keynes who have worked so hard in the last few months to produce a competitive PU and of course, everyone at Red Bull Racing. "For Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda, Pierre Gasly lost places while running from the start on the wet tyres, but in the end he fought his way back into the points and eighth place. "Both Sergio Perez and Yuki Tsunoda were going very well, but a spin for each of them dropped them out of the points. It is good to see that we have been competitive in the first two races, but there is a very long way to go, so we need to keep pushing and tackle each race as it comes." Honda, Red Bull and AlphaTauri will look to continue their strong start when the F1 season resumes in Portugal on May 2.
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