Red Bull could have easily made minimal changes to their 2024 car, given they won 21 of the 22 races last season. However, the Milton Keynes outfit were bold enough to change their highly successful concept entirely. On seeing this radical change in the design of the RB20, Honda felt “very surprised”.
Speaking exclusively to Autosport.com, Honda Racing Corporation’s president Koji Watanabe gave his perspective on how they had to adapt the engine as per Red Bull’s modified concept of the RB20.
Watanabe said, “Last year we won 21 out of the 22 races together, but they still changed the concept. It is unbelievable! They made a lot of requests to adapt our engine to the new concept for the RB20. After we saw the RB20 in real life we were so surprised by all the changes that they made.”
The HRC boss also shed light on how Red Bull requested them to adapt the engine as per the new aerodynamic design. Honda did so and it gave the Austrian team the freedom to seamlessly fit the engine and their redesigned chassis parts.
Watanabe also mentioned that they changed the positions of the oil coolers and radiators to make it in line with the RB20’s cooling solutions. Last season, they had some reliability issues with the engine, so Honda also had to improve the same.
Overall, the Red Bull car is working wonders again despite the radical shift in its concept. The Milton Keynes outfit has again dominated races this year with Max Verstappen winning four of the five Grands Prix so far. Even Sergio Perez is looking at ease with the RB20, backing up his teammate’s performances with regular P2 finishes.
Red Bull head into unknown territory without Honda in 2026
Honda can take considerable credit for Red Bull’s rise in recent times. The Japanese manufacturer joined hands with them in 2019 and have supplied them with the fastest engine lately which is a huge factor in Red Bull’s current dominance. However, Honda is only supplying the Austrian team till 2025.
Honda will then begin to partner with Aston Martin from 2026 onwards, the year F1 introduces new regulations. Meanwhile, Red Bull have started their indigenous engine program under the Red Bull Powertrains (RBPT) entity.
However, they have also signed a deal with Ford to collaborate on this 2026 power unit. Ford will assist the Austrian team with the electric and hybrid elements of the new power unit.
Still, the RBPT-Ford engine project is a big risk for Red Bull. They have raised concerns about the new regulations and how the 2026 cars and engines may have some flaws. However, given their inexperience as an engine manufacturer relative to OEM rivals like Mercedes and Ferrari, the Milton Keynes outfit may struggle with their own engine.
