With Formula 1 in Las Vegas this week for the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, HRC gathered Red Bull Racing and RB F1 drivers for a filming day event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway called “HRC Hybrid Day”. The drivers included Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez, Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson, all of whom drive Honda-powered Formula 1 cars this season.
HRC brought a selection of hybrid machines: the Acura ARX-06, an Indycar, the CR-V Hybrid Racer and the production Honda Civic Hybrid. Also on hand was the Acura Integra Type S HRC Prototype and Acura Integra Type S DE5 Race Car.
The highlight was 3-time Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen getting behind the wheel of the Acura ARX-06 LMDh race car. Verstappen has piloted a variety of racing machines in his lifetime and regularly competes in online endurance races, but this occasion marked his first real laps in a Lemans Prototype.
Max Verstappen meets the Acura ARX-06
Max Verstappen ARX-06 onboard lap
It would be amazing to see Verstappen drive the Acura ARX-06 at the Rolex 24 or any endurance event, but it likely won’t be anytime soon. He told The Drive:
“With the busy schedule, it’s almost impossible. We finish [F1] so late in the season and then to properly prepare before heading to Daytona [in January] is really impossible… I know I want to do it but when I do it I want and try to win it, and the only way to do it is to do proper testing—which is not possible at the moment. But who knows, maybe in a few years time. I will still be young-ish.”
The other mentionable pairing was Japanese F1 Driver Yuki Tsunoda getting a taste of the Acura Integra Type S HRC Prototype. Following his test drive in the Honda-powered IndyCar, Tsunoda specifically requested some time in the Indy Yellow Pearl Integra – a car that wasn’t actually meant to be driven in the hybrid event.
Stepping out of the Integra Type S HRC Prototype, Tsunoda can be heard saying, “The sound is so good, the balance is really nice… it’s such a nice car”. I’ve also been told by HRC that he wants one for himself, “He wants to drive it in Japan… obviously because we don’t sell Integras there he would be one of very few”.
F1 Driver Yuki Tsunoda drives the Acura Integra Type S HRC Prototype
[Source: Honda Racing Global, Red Bull Racing, Jon Ikeda]