Honda has officially retired from Formula 1, but will remain linked to Red Bull for at least two more seasons. And everything indicates that the catalyst for this collaboration will be Masashi Yamamoto.
Honda has left the Formula 1 through the front door and Red Bull Racing has had a lot to do with it. While the Japanese engine has reached a spectacular level in 2021, especially in terms of reliability, it has not been able to match Mercedes in pure performance, so the Anglo-Austrian team has had to compensate to some extent for this deficit.
Be that as it may, Sling He leaves the premier class with the drivers’ world title and honor restored after McLaren’s bad experience. Now it is time to focus on other projects, although without losing sight of F1 completely.
Red Bull Powertrains
And it is that, even though Red bull has created its own engine division to operate on legacy Honda powertrains between now and the end of the current regulatory engine cycle in 2025, the Japanese brand will not completely disengage.
It is known that Honda will support Red Bull Powertrains until the end of 2022 with the aim of allowing the Austrian brand to complete a smooth transition into its new role as a rider.
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But, as reported RacingNews365, such collaboration will actually run through 2025 through the supply and maintenance of the engines from Japan. It is even expected that the one who has been the head of Honda F1 during the last seasons, Masashi yamamoto, become the new manager of Red Bull Powertrains.
Honda sees it feasible to continue with this collaboration in the shadows as a engine development freeze since the beginning of this season, so the high evolution costs disappear completely.
It is not ruled out either that Honda wants stay in touch with Formula 1 With a view to a future return to the category, which in 2026 will release a new regulation that will place much more emphasis on the electrical part of the hybrid engine and on sustainable fuels.