It is official! The Formula 1 team Red Bull Racing, together with Honda Motor Co. Ltd. jointly announced that it has entered into a partnership in which Honda will supply Red Bull Racing with power units.
Honda, which is already supplying units to the Red Bull Racing junior team Scuderia Toro Rosso, will start supplying the high-tech units for the 2019 and 2020 Formula 1 seasons, consisting of:
- 1.6 liter V6 petrol engine
- Single turbocharger with energy recovery system (MGU-H)
- Kinetic Energy Recovery System (MGU-K)
- Batteries or energy storage
- Control unit
Image from Honda F1 Power Unit Guide
“The cooperation between Honda and both Red Bull Formula 1 teams offers enormous potential,” said team principal Christian Horner. “Honda will have access to a wealth of data from both teams, with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing in the lead, and the opportunities for faster, more effective and more competitive development will be doubled.”
The team will continue to race under the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing name.
The relationship between Honda and Toro Rosso has been positive so far this season – with Honda’s best result in the hybrid era, fourth place in Bahrain and a recent strong step forward in Canada.
Takahiro Hachigo, President & Representative Director of Honda Motor Co., Ltd., said: “After building a good relationship with Scuderia Toro Rosso, we decided to transfer our Formula 1 commitment to the other team in the Red Bull family , Aston Martin Red, Bull Racing to extend from the 2019 season. “
“With two teams, we can access twice as much data as before. We believe that working with Toro Rosso and Red Bull Racing will allow us to move closer to our goal of winning races and championships and to build two strong partnerships. “
“Thanks to Red Bull’s open and respectful attitude towards Honda, the discussions progressed very quickly and resulted in a deal that was fair and equitable for all parties.”
With this new partnership, the 2018 season ends the team’s 12-year relationship with the current engine supplier Renault.
Red Bull Racing used Renault power for the first time in 2007 and during the V8 engine era of Formula 1, the partnership brought 47 Grand Prix victories and eight world championship titles (four drivers and four constructors’ titles) between 2010 and 2013 and since then another ten grand -Prix wins, with victory at the Monaco Grand Prix in May the most recent win for Renault and Red Bull Racing.
As an aside, we suspect the partnership will not enter the 2021 season as the FIA’s new rulebook will be drawn up from the 2021 season and beyond. The FIA plans to reduce costs by eliminating the innovative turbocharger-mounted MGU-H and increasing the number of standardized components, while at the same time improving the acoustics of the exhaust noise by increasing the engine speed from 15,000 rpm to 18,000 rpm.
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