Red Bull reacts to Honda withdrawal, but confirms its involvement in F1

How far away must seem the visits to the Sakura development center in Japan, where Christian Horner and Max Verstappen did not hide their enthusiasm in the face of the desire and the profligacy of human and financial resources put on the table by Honda to return to the top of the F1.

Red Bull Racing, just like the Team Alpha Tauri, precursor in the relationship with Honda in 2018, must now largely review their plans for the 2022 season, after the announcement of Honda's withdrawal from F1 at the end of the 2021 campaign.

Si McLaren had not succeeded in the Honda bet in 2015, the engine manufacturer facing a rather steep learning curve with hybrid technology, Toro Rosso then Red Bull were able to take advantage of the hard work of Japanese engineers, Christian's team Horner signing several successes with Max Verstappen, Pierre Gasly recently bringing a victory to Franz Tost's troops at Monza.

“We understand how difficult it was for Honda to make the decision to withdraw from Formula 1 at the end of the 2021 season, explains Christian Horner. The shift in direction within the automotive industry has led Honda to redeploy its resources and we understand and respect the reasoning.

Their decision presents obvious challenges for us as a team, but we have been there before and we are well prepared and equipped to respond effectively, as we have proven in the past.

Although we are disappointed not to continue with Honda, we are extremely proud of our joint success, with five victories and fifteen podiums for the two Red Bull-owned teams and we thank everyone at Honda for their extraordinary effort and commitment . »

A choice by Honda which, according to Christian Horner, does not call into question Red Bull's involvement for the future in F1. “As a signatory of the latest Concorde Agreements, Red Bull Racing remains committed to the sport for the long term and we look forward to embarking on a new era of innovation, development and success, continues Horner.

We will now take the time allotted to us to evaluate and find the most competitive engine-level solution for 2022 and beyond. »

“Scuderia AlphaTauri and Honda have built a very good professional relationship since we started cooperating in 2018, admits Franz Tost, Team Principal of the Faenza team.

We have had great success together in recent years, winning one race and finishing on the podium twice, with a second and a third place. It is unfortunate that Honda has decided to end its involvement in Formula 1, as the performance of their Power Unit has been steadily improving to become one of the best engines on the grid in a short period of time. »

Discover more information on Honda's withdrawal from F1 at the end of the 2021 season, in AUTO issue 2281hebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version and from next Wednesday on newsstands.