Honda stopped participating in the sport as an official works team at the conclusion of the previous season, and Red Bull is now paying for its services, including the creation of this year’s power unit for the switch from E5 to E10 gasoline.
The initial plan, which was made public before the end of last year, was for the new Red Bull Powertrains subsidiary to begin acquiring entire Honda power units with full on-track engineering support only in 2022.
In 2023, 2024, and 2025, after RBP had gotten up to speed, it would produce the engines using Honda parts at its Milton Keynes factory while also working on its own project for the new F1 regulations that would take effect in 2026.
Helmut Marko, the head of Red Bull Motorsport, has disclosed that the original plan has changed, and that Honda will now continue to provide full engines from Japan to Red Bull and AlphaTauri through the end of 2025.
The choice allows RBP to concentrate more on its 2026 project and allays any worries regarding problems like quality control that would arise from relocating the construction of the power units to the UK.
To ensure that RBP will still be a new player when its own engine is released in 2026, the adjustment has been implemented in part.
Thus, it will gain from the concessions that are primarily being discussed to help persuade the VW Group to fully commit to F1, such as a larger budget cap for power units.
However, given the intention to ensure that RBP is a new player in 2026, it would make sense if the engines continued to carry the Honda badge until 2025. It is known that the specifics of the new agreements have not yet been finalized.
Marko told Autorevue magazine, “We have now also identified an entirely different answer than the one originally envisioned.”
“Until 2025, the engines will be produced in Japan; we won’t touch them at all. As a result, the Japanese will continue to own the rights to everything, which is significant for 2026 since it makes us newcomers.
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Red Bull and Honda 2022 still together?
The ambitious Red Bull Powertrains project is on track, according to Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner, who anticipates the first Red Bull engine to be running on the dyno by the end of 2022.
After its engine provider Honda made the decision to quit the sport at the end of 2021, Red Bull chose to create their own company, Red Bull Powertrains. However, Red Bull won’t start using their own Red Bull Powertrains unit until 2026; instead, they’ll keep using Honda technology until 2025. And Horner claims that the business has hired incredible personnel for this incredibly intriguing initiative.
We are on track in terms of our own preparation, according to Horner. By the end of the year, the first Red Bull engine will run on the dyno when we relocate to our new site in May. They are moving forward quite well, and the project is very exciting.
In 2022, who will provide Red Bull engines?
The first Formula 1 engine with the Red Bull logo will take to the circuit for the first time next month. But only in name, the engine is a Red Bull.
Honda will continue to manufacture, assemble, maintain, and provide support for the engine it created in 2022, and it is likely that it will do so for a few years beyond that as well.
This season, Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri will formally use “Red Bull Powertrains” engines as a result of Honda’s official withdrawal from Formula One.
It implies that the short-term ambitions of world champion Max Verstappen and his team rest on a continuation project, which has historically disappointed in Formula One.
But the “not a Honda” engine is special. And that’s already an improvement over the alternatives Red Bull faced; if a few crucial choices had been made differently, it’s feasible that Red Bull would have had to find a new engine supplier altogether or been forced to use a variation of Honda’s 2020 design.
Why is Honda quitting Formula One?
However, the alliance is rapidly coming to an end. Honda formally declared its intention to leave Formula One at the end of current season late last year in order to concentrate its efforts on the advancement of electric road vehicle technology.
“Toyoharu Tanabe, Honda F1’s development guru, states that regardless of whether this was our final season or not, we have merely maintained working very hard. ” Since we began this program, we have put a lot of effort into it every year. It’s somewhat sentimental. It’s a little depressing to know that for us, this is the final season.
Tanabe’s voice indicates that, even though he is aware of the corporate justifications behind Honda’s choice, the knowledge that this will be the manufacturer’s final F1 season is more than a little depressing.
Is Honda leaving Formula One?
Following seven years of providing hybrid power units to first McLaren, then AlphaTauri, and ultimately Red Bull, Honda stated in October 2020 that it would end its F1 program after the 2021 season.
Due to this, Red Bull decided to headquarter the engine development at its Milton Keynes site. To lead the new Red Bull Powertrains section, Red Bull attracted personnel from Honda and other rival teams.
Honda struggled for years with McLaren, but in the end produced significant engine advancements that allowed Red Bull to fight with the strong Mercedes team and enabling Max Verstappen to win the 2021 world championship in a thrilling final matchup with Lewis Hamilton.
Personally, I concur, Yamamoto said. “But because it is clear that the firm made this decision, and I can understand it, we must ultimately accept it.
“However, we always have the ability to dream, therefore we hope Honda will return to F1 someday.”
Yamamoto acknowledged that he was sad to see Honda depart, but said that there was immense “The fact that Verstappen helped Honda win the drivers’ title signifies that the company eventually met its goals and won’t leave with unfinished business.
Is Honda coming back to F1?
If Honda did decide to make a comeback in 2026, when would it have to make that decision? Watanabe said, “I don’t know the precise time frame.” However, we most likely need to make a decision within one to one and a half years if we want to return to F1 in 2026.
Honda will still have a short-term role in the Red Bull and AlphaTauri tale. Honda would serve as a sort of team partner for both teams, he continued. Although the specifics are still being worked out, HRC will serve as both teams’ technical partner through 2025.
What caused Red Bull to choose Honda?
After winning the Drivers’ World Championship with Max Verstappen, Honda will technically leave Formula 1 at the end of 2021, however its intellectual property will remain in the possession of the recently founded Red Bull Powertrains.
Honda agreed to give Red Bull their plans for 2022 and the start of the engine freeze because of how closely they work together.
The engines were supposed to continue being prepared by Honda for Red Bull in 2022 and 2023. After that season, Red Bull’s Powertrains division would take over the production and administration of the power units.
Despite the engines not bearing the Honda logo, Honda will still service and supply the engines from Japan.