Honda does not believe it has missed an opportunity after reigning Formula 1 champions Red Bull confirmed they will switch to Ford power units in 2026.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said last year Honda was “making noises about 2026”. However the team has since done a deal with Ford to co-produce power units in time for the next change of regulations.Honda announced late in 2020 it would withdraw from F1 at the end of the following year. That coincided with an upswing in performance by Red Bull, who took Max Verstappen to the drivers championship in 2021, and dominated last season.
However Honda’s name was removed from the engines and its branding reduced to modest logos for ‘HRC’ – Honda Racing Corporation – at the start of the year. The manufacturer restored its name to the side of Red Bull’s cars four days before Verstappen clinched the drivers’ title at Honda’s Suzuka circuit.
For 2023 Red Bull’s power units will be renamed again, to Honda RBPT. The model name will be Honda RBPTH001.
Honda has registered as one of six engine manufacturers for the 2026 season. It does not yet have a chassis partner, but is not concerned that the chance to do a deal with Red Bull has slipped through its fingers.
“It was not a failure,” said Honda Racing Corporation president Koji Watanabe. “We never really saw that as any failure of any sort.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
“As a technical partner, we’re always in contact with Red Bull. So there are many topics that we discussed and many that we have discussed.
“But out of this dialogue it was decided that we will not continue this partnership beyond 2025. So there’s nothing that’s fixed from 2026. It is as simple as that.”
Honda confirmed last year it will continue to provide support to Red Bull in running its engines up to the end of the current formula in 2025.
“From 2026, Red Bull and Ford will be partnering, and in advance we received the notification for Honda and Red Bull until 2025,” Watanabe explained. “We continue to have trust and great partnership and we aim to win the championship until 2025. So we have an unwavering policy on that.
“But after 2026 and onward, Red Bull would partner with Ford and we are not in the position to say anything about that. But in other races we have the partnership with Red Bull so we continue to work together.
“For F1 2026 and onward, there’s nothing specific that we can say about that, but we would like to be close to F1.”
Bringing the F1 news from the source
RaceFans strives to bring its readers news directly from the key players in Formula 1. We are able to do this thanks in part to the generous backing of our RaceFans Supporters.
By contributing £1 per month or £12 per year (or the equivalent in other currencies) you can help cover the costs involved in producing original journalism: Travelling, writing, creating, hosting, contacting and developing.
We have been proudly supported by our readers for over 10 years. If you enjoy our independent coverage, please consider becoming a RaceFans Supporter today. As a bonus, all our Supporters can also browse the site ad-free. Sign up or find out more via the links below:
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
2023 F1 season
- FIA president cleared of alleged interference in two 2023 races
- First week viewing figures for new Drive to Survive season fall again
- Max who? Drive to Survive season six prefers its favourite faces
- RaceFans’ complete 2023 season review
- The F1 drivers who pulled off the 10 biggest charges through the field in 2023
Tristan (@skipgamer)
20th February 2023, 10:20
Lol, woops, well isn’t that awkward. I wonder who they could partner with. They had a good thing with Red Bull. The shame associated with admitting failure is very serious in Japan, but if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck…
All that being said there were some saying Honda “pulling out” was a ploy for Red Bull to bargain the engine freeze so maybe that was a thing…
Abrams 25
20th February 2023, 10:27
Mc laren or Williams ?
Sonny Crockett (@sonnycrockett)
20th February 2023, 17:38
I’m not sure McLaren would want to be Honda’s Guinea Pigs again. Those memories are still too fresh.
Ed
20th February 2023, 11:44
Can Honda please make up their mind as to whether they want to be in F1 or not. If they want to be an engine supplier i’m fine with that; if they want a full team i’m fine with that. It’s the constant “in/out” approach that they come in for a season or two then leave for 5 years then come back in then after a few years back out only to decide they want in again.
When the FIA talk about new teams and “what they bring to the table” can someone in the FIA tell Honda this applies to them too.
petebaldwin (@)
20th February 2023, 12:17
Honda have a fairly established role now though to be fair. They come in to F1 for a few years, struggle and embarrass themselves and then when they finally have a breakthrough, they hand everything over to someone else to put their badge on just in time to step onto the top step of the podium.
Handing the team over to Brawn just as they were about to win has to be one of the stupidest decisions I’ve ever seen made – it certainly shows there is massive disconnect between the decision makers and Honda and their F1 operations because the decisions never seem to be based on what we are seeing on track!
Then of course, Honda came back as an engine supplier, stuck around for years whilst they were looking completely incompetent but they fought hard and worked to improve the engine… Eventually it was actually pretty good and Red Bull were in contention for a Championship with a Honda on board! Can’t have that though can we? “Quick! Run away! Put another badge on that car – we can’t have “Honda” in the record books as a Champion!”
Ciaran (@ciaran)
20th February 2023, 12:28
@petebaldwin 2008 was the one time I’ll forgive Honda, as the financial crisis forced a lot of bad decisions. To be seen putting hundreds of millions into a non-essential endeavour while they were shutting factories wouldn’t look too good either!
Otherwise totally agree, Honda and Renault are as fickle as the wind and they can’t be relied on to support F1 through tough times.
S
20th February 2023, 12:41
It’s not at all down to the participants to ‘support F1.’ They don’t – at any time.
F1 needs to be strong enough to stand on its own feet at all times.
One of F1’s (subjectively) greatest eras involved the field being comprised mostly of independent race teams, with the majority of them running the same engine….
F1 would still be F1 without any manufacturer participation at all. It’s just a rule set, a global calendar and a fat cheque book, after all.
MichaelN
20th February 2023, 13:14
Mostly. It seems to be somewhat similar to the drivers; they are what a lot of fans say they are focused on, but what usually happens is that the moment these drivers leave F1, people largely forget about them and focus on new drivers instead. It’s F1 that makes these drivers cool, not the other way around.
With manufacturers the ‘relationship’ between F1, viewers and the participants is a bit more involved. A lot of people like to pick out certain manufacturers and stick with them, forming a lasting identification and – as silly as this is – a ‘stake’ in the sporting success of said manufacturer. Having a variety of manufacturers in F1 does add to the value of and engagement with F1 in a way that having 9 English privateers take on Ferrari doesn’t.
S
20th February 2023, 15:52
Yeah, to some people it is overly important, even to the point of complete irrationality.
Not to this little black duck, though.
Asanator (@asanator)
20th February 2023, 13:03
I don’t think Honda would have one the championship with that car anyway. The Honda V8 was awful. Combining the chassis with the competitive Merc engine was what tipped the balance and enabled the Brawn to just about edge it over the competition. I’m sure they would have won the odd race early in the season, but not the championships.
MichaelN
20th February 2023, 13:16
If they had continued they wouldn’t have had the Mercedes engine, though. The Mercedes V8 was generally regarded as the most powerful engine, even if it later struggled to maximize the benefits off the blown diffuser in a way that Renault did.
The 2009 season was also tarnished by the FIA’s highly questionable decision to allow double diffusers, something Adrian Newey claimed was done at the insistence of FIA president Mosley once he found out that both Ferrari and McLaren didn’t have one. The thinking being that harming these two leaders of the rebellious FOTA would be to the benefit of the FIA.
The Dolphins
22nd February 2023, 3:28
Interesting insight, is this from a biography?
petebaldwin (@)
20th February 2023, 13:53
Fair point (both who mentioned it) about the engine. I forgot they changed to Mercedes. Even so, I think that car was quick enough with the double diffuser that it would have been right at the front regardless.
Darryn Smith (@darryn)
20th February 2023, 20:20
I still have no idea if they are currently in or out? Is this Mechachrome building Renault engines? I guess this is the perfect state for a manufacturer that has been in and out of F1 more times than I can count and maybe more times than even Renault.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
21st February 2023, 13:52
RBPTH is the sound I made when I first tasted Red Bull…