Honda officially retired from Formula 1 at the end of the 2021 season but, through its racing division Honda Racing Corporation, continues to support the Red Bull teams under a deal that runs until the end of 2025.
From this weekend, this cooperation will also become more visible visually, because the Honda logo will return to the cars of Red Bull and AlphaTauri – just in time for the Japanese manufacturer’s home Grand Prix in Suzuka.
As well as using the Honda logo on the Red Bull RB18 and AlphaTauri AT03, Sergio Pérez will take on an ambassador role for the Honda Racing School.
Along with teammate Max Verstappen and AlphaTauri drivers Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda, he will also be present at Honda’s HRC Thank You Day on November 27th, which takes place a week after the Formula 1 season finale.
Horner underlines successful cooperation
“Honda has invested significantly in hybrid technology over the course of our partnership. This has ensured that both teams are supplied with competitive aggregates, for which we are very grateful,” emphasizes Red Bull team boss Christian Horner.
“Our common goal is to continue to have dominant engines in the next three years and to achieve the greatest possible success. To underline this, we look forward to having the Honda logo on the car again from Suzuka onwards.”
Koji Watanabe, President of Honda Racing Corporation, added: “The HRC logo on the nose and the Honda logo on the side of both teams’ race cars represent the strong bond between Honda and the Red Bull Group.”
“Through HRC’s technical support, Honda will fully support the challenge of making these cars the ‘Fastest in the World’. We are delighted that they will be unveiled at the Japanese Grand Prix, where Honda is title sponsor.”
Honda return to Formula 1 still open
Watanabe was part of a Honda delegation that attended the Austrian Grand Prix in July. There he noted that Formula 1 is “not a closed door” for Honda given the plans for the next generation of power units from 2026.
Red Bull is known to be open to a technical partnership with a manufacturer from 2026 after a deal with Porsche was recently declared broken.
After talks broke down, Horner hinted that Honda could help Red Bull with its 2026 engine project. However, he also pointed out that Red Bull is already on the right track with its plans for the new engines.