Red Bull and Honda’s partnership has been one of the most fruitful ones in the history of Formula 1 as the Japanese manufacturer’s $10,500,000 engine for their Austrian counterparts helped them get the better of Mercedes and Ferrari. However, Honda and Red Bull are all set to go in different ways in 2026 and due to this, the Japanese giants are in an ‘awkward’ problem with their production, as per a report published by Racingnews365.com.
The Milton-Keynes-based team has a very successful business relationship with Honda. Red Bull won plenty of world titles with Renault, but after the onset of the turbo-hybrid era, they started struggling. Honda, however, helped the topple Mercedes to win their first championship since 2013.
The Honda RBPTH001 🙌💪 x
Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT =
2023 @F1 Constructors’ World Champions 🏆🏁#F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/9VEBcKyuQV— Honda Racing Global (@HondaRacingGLB) September 24, 2023
However, Honda’s decision to leave the sport in 2021 triggered the energy drink-based team to find an alternative and start their own powertrains division. This was done in order to end their dependency on others. However, Honda deciding to stay back created confusion but it was too little too late.
Red Bull already went ahead with their RBPT engine program and earlier this year, tied up with Ford. This became problematic for the Japanese giants as they lost personnel to Honda. Therefore, they are now facing an awkward situation ahead of their 2026 partnership with Aston Martin.
How did Honda find themselves in an awkward situation?
After Red Bull decided to start their own PU department, many employees switched sides to work for the Milton-Keynes-based team. They jumped from Honda and are already on Christian Horner’s team’s payroll.
Furthermore, it was not only Red Bull, but AlphaTauri too, who hired people from Honda. This created a vacancy at Honda who are now lacking headcount for their 2026 engine development.
Therefore, they cannot function until they have ample expert professionals with them and get their engine ready for Aston Martin for the 2026 F1 season. Since it will be the start of new regulations, this makes the task even trickier.
Despite the departure, Honda wishes Red Bull all the luck
As Red Bull is all set to be with Ford and Honda with Aston Martin, the Japanese automakers wished all the luck to the Milton-Keynes outfit. Even though they will be rivals in 2026, they want Max Verstappen and Co. to keep their dominance until 2025.
Additionally, Honda also pointed out an information war that is going on between them and the defending champions. Ever since the Austrian started their own powertrain department, there has been a lack of information shared between them.
Honda alleged that while Red Bull knows about their development, it is not the other way around. Since they will be rivals from 2026, experts believe the Bulls are playing a bit of a safe game against their friends who will soon turn to foes once the new regulations are laid out.
