F1: Red Bull agrees Honda engine IP use, reveals post-2021 plan

While their race-winning Formula 1 partnership will come to an end at the close of this year’s World Championship, Red Bull and Honda are pleased to announce that they will race on together in the wider world of motorsport, through an exciting new collaboration.

The diversification agreement will see the Red Bull group of companies and Honda work together on a variety of motorsport activities, encompassing the transition of power unit development from Honda to Red Bull Powertrains, young driver development, marketing and branding initiatives, as well as competitive activity across a range of motorsport disciplines.

In Formula 1, Red Bull Powertrains will have the right to use Honda IP relating to the Power Unit from 2022. Whilst Honda will support Red Bull Powertrains through the assembly of power units, the provision of trackside engineering support and race operation assistance in 2022, from 2023, RBPT will take responsibility for all manufacturing and servicing of Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri’s engines. Additionally, to ensure team continuity, there will be a transfer of Honda Racing Development UK employees to Red Bull Powertrains.

Beyond Formula 1, Red Bull and Honda will continue to work together on their respective young driver programs. The Red Bull Junior Team and Honda Formula Dream Project will partner to further grow motorsport in Japan, with the ultimate goal of promoting new generations of Japanese drivers to the highest levels of global motorsport, as has happened with Yuki Tsunoda in Formula 1.

Red Bull and Honda will also expand their cooperation to create a joint presence in various forms of motorsport, in other sports and wider activities in order to broaden the reach of both brands and in particular promote Honda’s innovative mobility products to a broader audience and help the company achieve its stated aim of achieving carbon neutrality throughout its operations.

Quote from Koji Watanabe, Chief Officer for Brand and Communication Operations, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. said: “I’m glad that we have reached an agreement with Red Bull Group covering all the details of the IP rights for the F1 Power Unit and in this way, Honda can still contribute to the motor racing world. We are now working hard to strengthen HRC’s structure, so that it can ensure our fans will be able to continue to enjoy Honda’s role in all types of motorsport.”

Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing Honda CEO and Team Principal said: “Red Bull’s collaboration with Honda has been enormously successful and while our relationship in Formula 1 is changing, neither of us wish for that to be the end of the story. We are very pleased that our ambitious and exciting Red Bull Powertrains project will be strongly supported by Honda, technically and operationally, in 2022 and this will help ensure that Red Bull’s transition to the status of chassis and power unit manufacturer is seamless. Equally as exciting is the news that our collaboration with Honda will extend to a variety of motorsport activities, from driver development to other racing disciplines and even across the wider sporting world. This stretch of Honda’s Formula 1 voyage is coming to an end but together we are embarking on a new and fascinating journey.”