Honda officially withdrew from Formula 1 at the end of the 2021 season, which is now leaving Red Bull Racing and its sister team AlphaTauri alone. But are they really threatened with the upcoming regulatory changes? Not at all.
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When the Japanese manufacturers first made this shocking decision, it almost looked like Red Bull could slide down the ladder into midfield as early as 2022. But an unexpected twist in history puts Red Bull in a position where they could maintain their hegemony for the next 4 years.
Engine stop – The four-time master design engineers applied to the FIA for an engine stop from the beginning of 2022 to the end of 2025. After a series of discussions, the teams recognized the idea of stopping engine development.
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Formula 1 F1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – December 12, 2021 Red Bulls Max Verstappen during the REUTERS / Ahmed Jadallah race
To shed some light on the subject, engine frost is nothing more than a rule that prevents the engine manufacturers in Formula 1 from developing their units over a certain period of time. Hence, Ferrari, Mercedes, Honda and Renault will have a chance to build a perfect engine for the 2022 season.
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How will Red Bull Racing benefit from this?
Red Bull Racing was actually the strongest team in 2021, or at least for most of 2021. And credit goes to Honda, who worked tirelessly to build an engine that had the pace to challenge defending champions Mercedes.
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In addition, Honda’s Red Bull plant continued to offer every conceivable help even after the announcement of the exit. And here they are, with a potentially powerful engine in hand that once again has the ability to challenge Mercedes for the title.
Formula 1 F1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – December 10, 2021 Red Bulls Max Verstappen during practice REUTERS / Hamad I Mohammed
Let’s say it actually happens; Red Bull has the heads in front, Mercedes is disappearing behind. Interestingly, unlike 2021, where Mercedes managed to develop the engine mid-season that partially helped them beat Red Bull, cannot bring an updated engine into play in 2022 or in subsequent years.
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Instead, the Brackley team would have to exploit other areas to find the tenths of a second required to beat the rivals, which is hardly ever promised. So will Red Bull dethrone Mercedes to become the most dominant F1 team of the era?
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