“McLaren People Came to Me and Said…”: Franz Tost Hails Red Bull’s Iconic Partnership to Humble Rivals from Woking

Red Bull and Honda’s alliance in Formula 1 turned out to be one of the most iconic in history. Following such a successful partnership, outgoing F1 boss Franz Tost is happy to see his former employer silence the doubters and the critics.

While talking about the early days of the collaboration, Tost revealed, “McLaren people came to me and said we were totally crazy to work together with Honda. “I said, ‘Gents, wait! We will talk about this in about five years’. But it didn’t take five years, it (success) was much earlier. It was clear it was the right decision.”

El equipo Red Bull en la Honda Racing Thanks Day pic.twitter.com/DO3Om6FWl7

— Wey, me mama la F1 (@weymemamalaf1) December 3, 2023

One cannot blame McLaren for their own apprehensions. From 2015 to 2017, they themselves faced a torrid time with a flawed Honda engine. Their power unit was so poor that double world champion Fernando Alonso also infamously referred to it as a ‘GP2 Engine‘ at the 2015 Japanese GP.

Despite the Woking team’s bad experience with Honda, Red Bull and their sister team, AlphaTauri (formerly Toro Rosso), had a successful partnership with the Japanese automobile giants. Hence, the team from Milton Keynes is grateful for Honda’s contributions to their success.

Red Bull beat McLaren to another record with their partnership with Honda

Ever since their collaboration with Honda came to fruition, Red Bull have been on the ascend. In 2021, Max Verstappen clinched his maiden F1 title, powered by Honda. Since then, the team have been using the Honda engines to propel themselves to two Constructors’ Championships in 2022 and 2023.

“We’ve now achieved more victories for Honda than McLaren during its championship days (54-42), and Max is the most-winning Honda driver ever. It’s been a great partnership. They’ve been a big part of what we’ve been able to achieve the last few years and particularly this year,” proclaimed Christian Horner.

“Will Red Bull’s dominance end with its own engine?”

Max: “A difficult question. With a question mark. But in Milton Keynes, hundreds of people are working on this project, ‘Red Bull Powertrains.’ We don’t want to be caught off guard in 2026. We all hope it’ll be a rocket. We’ll… pic.twitter.com/UBDR18oiWg

— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) December 10, 2023

However, showcasing faith in Honda was not easy after both McLaren and Sauber rejected a partnership with the Japanese manufacturers. It was Red Bull that saved Honda from such shame.

The partnership between the two teams will now come to an end after the 2025 season. From 2026 onwards, the Milton Keynes-based team will cut ties with Honda to embark on a new chapter with Ford.