Honda has announced that it is pulling the plug on its Formula 1 project. That also means that Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri have to look for a new engine supplier.
Honda surprises with a quite unexpected announcement: after the next Formula 1 season it will leave Formula 1. Honda currently supplies the hybrid V6 engines for Red Bull Racing, the team for which Max Verstappen drives and AlphaTauri. The announcement definitely comes as a shock, even though Honda had indicated for some time that it was rethinking its position in the sport. The latest signals were positive, but now it appears that the Japanese are going to stop.
The reason, according to Honda, is its pursuit of ‘CO2 neutrality by 2050’. It wants to put its money and R&D fully into this and work on it with the knowledge it has gained in racing. Further development and investment in the F1 project no longer seems to be in line with this. Probably also because Formula 1 has frozen the engine regulations for the coming years. The innovation ceiling thus seems to have already been reached and further participation in Formula 1 has, in the eyes of the Honda management, apparently only become a prestige project in the eyes of the Honda management.
Future Red Bull
For Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri, who previously signed up for a longer stay in F1, the decision means looking for a new engine supplier. After all, Honda will no longer be there by 2022. Then, for the time being, Renault, Mercedes and Ferrari remain. Previously, both teams drove with Renault engines, but that collaboration did not end lovingly in 2018. Mercedes will supply their engines to four teams from next year, including the factory team. Given its current track record, the Ferrari engine would be a big step back. So it will be exciting what this means for both teams.
Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner reacts with mixed feelings to the news that Honda is leaving: “On the one hand we are disappointed that we cannot continue our partnership with Honda, but on the other hand very proud of our joint success; five wins and 15 podiums for both Red Bull teams. We thank everyone at Honda for their exceptional effort and dedication. ” Honda returned to Formula 1 in 2015 as an engine supplier to McLaren. There followed a number of disastrous years, but at Red Bull Racing, Honda managed to become a winning engine supplier again.