Honda and Red Bull have announced an extension to their power unit support deal that will see them continue their relationship until the end of 2025.
Honda withdrew from Formula 1 at the end of 2021, having powered Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to his maiden Formula 1 World Championship. Red Bull Powertrains – a new company set up by the Austrian outfit – then took over the Honda engine IP, but with help from the Japanese company under a support agreement. They are currently leading both championships with Red Bull, while the power units also power the AlphaTauri team.
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The technical partnership with Honda was initially only to last until the end of 2023 but will now run until the end of 2025, when a brand-new set of power unit regulations are set to come into play.
Honda have pointed out that their agreement with Red Bull “does not involve PU development” nor an additional allocation of resources, and will allow Honda to continue working towards meeting their own carbon-neutral goals.
“We thank Honda for their positive response to working together,” said Red Bull Motorsport Advisor Dr Helmut Marko. “We are excited to continue our partnership in F1 until the end of 2025 with the PU supplied by Honda. We have had a successful relationship so far, winning the drivers’ championship in 2021 and currently leading the drivers’ and teams’ classifications, with the aim of securing both 2022 titles.”
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Christian Horner, Red Bull Team Principal and CEO of the new Red Bull Powertrains company, added: “Red Bull’s partnership with Honda has been an incredibly successful one and we are pleased that this will continue until the end of the current era of the FIA’s power unit regulations in 2025.”
Honda Racing Corporation CEO Koji Watanabe added: “We have agreed to continue supporting Red Bull Power Trains in Formula 1 through HRC, following Red Bull’s request to extend our current agreement, which HRC can meet within its existing resources. Once again, we aim to use our involvement in the pinnacle of motorsport for the development of technologies and of our workforce.”
