Red Bull will pay tribute to its engine supplier Honda by running a special livery at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.
The team has revealed a special livery in the colours of the Japanese flag for its two RB21s. It is inspired by the Honda RA272 which scored the manufacturer’s first grand prix victory 60 years ago in Mexico.Racing Bulls, Red Bull’s second F1 team which also uses Honda engines, will also pay tribute to the manufacturer. “A special logo commemorating 60 years since Honda’s first F1 victory will also be displayed across all four Red Bull cars on the grid,” said Red Bull in a statement.
This is the final year in which Red Bull is using Honda’s power units. It is designing its own motors in conjunction with Ford for the new regulations which will arrive next year.
Red Bull previously ran a similar livery in 2021. It intended to use the design at the Japanese Grand Prix that year, but it was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so the livery appeared at the Turkish Grand Prix instead.
The team’s change of livery is particularly significant this weekend as Yuki Tsunoda will become the first Japanese driver to race for the team. He has replaced Liam Lawson.
Honda Racing Corporation president Koji Watanabe said: “It is quite moving to see the RA272 tribute livery on the latest Red Bull Racing machine, in the final year of Honda and Red Bull’s partnership.”
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Red Bull has enjoyed huge success with Honda since joining forces with the manufacturer in 2019. Honda endured an uncompetitive spell working with McLaren in the early years of the current V6 hybrid turbo power units. The pair split at the end of 2017 and Red Bull took up a supply of Honda power units for its second team, then known as Toro Rosso.
Having been impressed by the improvements Honda made in 2018, Red Bull began using its engines the following year. Max Verstappen scored the first victory for the new alliance in their ninth race together, at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
Two years later Verstappen won his first of four consecutive drivers’ titles in a Honda-powered Red Bull. However by that point Honda had decided not to continue manufacturing F1 engines. As F1 froze its engine specifications at the end of 2021, Red Bull was able to continue using the power units. In addition to Verstappen’s four titles, the team won the constructors championship in 2022 and 2023.
Red Bull made plans to produce its own F1 engines and originally rebranded its Honda power units as ‘Red Bull Powertrains’. However Honda subsequently decided to return to F1 as an engine manufacturer in 2026, supplying Aston Martin, and restored its brandings to Red Bull’s power units.
This weekend will be the first time Red Bull has used a variation on its livery since last year’s Miami Grand Prix. The team originally announced it would use further special liveries at the other two American rounds on the calendar, but dropped the plan in order to avoid adding “undue weight” to its chassis.
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Pictures: Red Bull’s Honda tribute livery
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black (@black)
1st April 2025, 8:21
Now that’s a proper white Red Bull livery, probably even better in my view compared to the Turkey 2021 one, since here the removed the yellow bits from the Red Bull logo.
But the fact that the Racing Bulls are basically white Red Bulls and we see them all season long, kinda makes this livery feel a bit less special, a bit less “wow”, compared to the shock I had when I first saw that Turkey 2021 livery.
BasCB (@bascb)
1st April 2025, 8:52
Good point about the RB being also white. I DO like this livery (just mostly white, the red accent works well and indeed no other distracting splodges of blue, yellow or whatever to mess it up). Is there any Honda signage on the car (apart from the small mandatory logo on the nosecone?)
Zach Bigalke (@bigalke)
1st April 2025, 13:41
See photo four, at the back of the engine cover.
SteveP
1st April 2025, 17:51
Four white cars with Bulls, emphasising the common ownership in a sort of yah-boo-sucks sort of way.
Red Pill (@redpill)
1st April 2025, 8:43
You would think they would increase the Honda Logo more, and make it more present. I know there’s sponsors rules and needing to keep other sponsors happy on the car, but I would shrink the red bull logo and increase and more bold the Honda logo just for this weekend as tribute? And the H on the front is rather tiny.
sumedh
1st April 2025, 9:01
I liked the 2021 livery more. This shiny / dark red seems to be a tribute to the Alfa Romeos driven by Raikkonen and Giovinazzi in early 2020s rather than a Honda tribute.
StephenH
1st April 2025, 9:17
Gorgeous livery. Perhaps not a the smartest day to announce it …
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
1st April 2025, 9:54
You know, I wouldn’t be massively surprised if by 1pm we find out they weren’t going for the ‘Alfa’ look. They do like to market themselves as the ‘fun team’.
Only Facts!
1st April 2025, 10:24
Looks like they will run 4 Racing Bulls chassis in Japan.
By Verstappen’s earlier comments, it could actually be a good idea.
Mr A
1st April 2025, 11:39
2003-2004 BAR vibes.
Not a bad thing.
dot_com (@dot_com)
1st April 2025, 17:30
I came here to say this! With a bit of an Alfa Romeo vibe, too.
d0senbrot (@d0senbrot)
1st April 2025, 12:27
Yuki in for Japan. Special Honda livery. I guess Honda made an offer they could not refuse
MacLeod (@macleod)
1st April 2025, 13:30
And it’s the last year to honour their cooperation for these years. I like this livery!
El Pollo Loco
3rd April 2025, 2:06
Good point. I know RBR is salty at Honda, but it’s been a great partnership. It’d be a shame for them not to celebrate it at all.
Francesco (@schivo69)
1st April 2025, 13:48
I was hoping for a re-branding VCARB style.
VERSBull would be a good one!
Jere (@jerejj)
1st April 2025, 14:08
Just as great as he 2021 Turkish GP one-off livery.
Moshambles (@moshambles)
1st April 2025, 16:11
The pressure mounts for Yuki
Edvaldo
1st April 2025, 16:12
And now to commemorate the livery, they expect their Japanese driver to offer strategic support.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
1st April 2025, 16:15
Well, we’ve had Haas with their sakura livery, now for Lawson here’s the You’re Sacked livery…
I thought Red Bull’s last redeeming feature had walked out when Newey left, but the livery designer’s done some great work this year. The only problem (as someone hinted at above) is the Racing Bulls won’t stand out any more.
MichaelN
1st April 2025, 17:06
This looks pretty cool. The Red Bull livery is of course great already (for what it wants to convey), so an alternative livery is in good hands with their designers. Small quibble: a bit disappointing that they didn’t get Oracle to give up their sidepod space for a bigger Honda logo.
AndrewT (@andrewt)
1st April 2025, 17:32
Simple, lovely. Bonus point for the shiny paintjob after all that dull-finish.
sam
1st April 2025, 19:39
Very nice! Anything is better than the flat blue thing tho.
Simon
1st April 2025, 20:24
Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss
FlyingLap (@flyinglapp)
1st April 2025, 22:38
It’s a bit early in the season for Red Bull to raise the white flag.
Doggy
1st April 2025, 23:35
Absolutely stunning. One of the most beautiful designs next to that 1998/1999 McLaren
Michael A.
2nd April 2025, 8:58
After all the hype in London to reveal the teams’ livery for 2025, and charging fans to witness that event, the liveries are changing rapidly. What a con Formula One!
Marcus (@marcusw)
2nd April 2025, 14:33
Best looking Red Bull in years!
Sergey Martyn
2nd April 2025, 16:47
Isn’t it Fool’s Day joke?