Redbull Racing team and its junior team AlphaTauri are now in search for a new engine supplier after Honda made a shocking announcement that they will be pulling out of Formula 1 at the end of 2021 F1 season.
The Japanese motor manufacturer had returned to Formula 1 back in 2015 producing engine units for Mclaren, after getting their inspiration from the new breeds of power units that depended on the hybrid and energy recorvery technologies. Later on they suffered a difficult and very unsuccessful partnership and eventually parted ways with Mclaren. Honda later joined forces with Toro Rosso which is curently the Redbull junior team, AlphaTauri. Much later in 2019 they went ahead to join the Redbull senior team as a works team.
Honda’s collaboration with the two Redbull teams have seen them achieve five race victories in their two and a half year partnership. However, now Honda have decided not to continue their partnership with the Redbull family, which will exist up to the end of 2021 season. They said that their decisison to leave Formula 1 because the automobile industry was going through one in a hundred years period of great transformations and they will be leaving F1 having attained their goal of earning victories.
“Honda will work together with Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri to continue competing with its utmost effort and strive for more victories all the way to the end of the 2021 season,” the Japanese company, Honda revealed in a statement.
The company’s retirement from Formula 1 racing will narrow down the engine suppliers to three, Mercedes, Renault and Ferrari. However, looking back at the current FIA rules, Renault are the most suitable to provide Redbull with power units as they have the fewest customers at the moment. On the other hand, they can also convince Ferrari or Mercedes to supply their power units. All options are very open.
Redbull, on behalf of their works team, Honda and its junior team AlphaTauri are very commited to the new Concorde Agreement, which binds them to the Formula 1 championship upto 2025.
“We look forward to embarking on a new era of innovation, development and success,” said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, who also added that he understood and respected Honda’s decision.
“As a group, we will now take the time afforded to us to further evaluate and find the most competitive power unit solution for 2022 and beyond.”
