Questions remain in the Red Bull-Honda F1 Engine Deal

Honda’s decision to leave Formula 1 as an engine manufacturer at the end of the 2021 season gave Red Bull a headache. The Austrian beverage company’s two F1 teams – Red Bull and AlphaTauri – needed engines for 2022, and there was absolutely no interest in Red Bull being a Renault engine customer again.

The only obvious solution for Red Bull was to buy the Honda F1 engine technology. To take such a risk, Red Bull wanted to freeze engine development from 2022 to minimize the associated risks. Rival teams weren’t thrilled, but when it was suggested that the FIA ​​and Formula 1 would postpone the introduction of a new engine formula from 2026 to 2025 in exchange for a freeze from 2022.

This was attractive in many ways, and last week the teams voted for the change. This closed the Red Bull-Honda deal and founded a new company called Red Bull Powertrains Limited. This new division will operate from Red Bull Racing’s F1 team base in Milton Keynes.

Helmut Marko

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“We have been discussing this issue with Honda for some time and after the FIA’s decision to freeze engine development from 2022, we were finally able to reach an agreement on the continued use of Honda’s hybrid engines,” said Red Bull Motorsport Advisor, Dr . Helmut Marko. “We are grateful for Honda’s collaboration in this regard and for the fact that both Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri continue to have competitive engines. The formation of Red Bull Powertrains Limited is a bold move by Red Bull, but one that we took after careful and detailed examination. We are aware of the tremendous commitment, but we believe that starting this new company is the most competitive option for both teams. “

It will be interesting to find out now what precautions have been taken with regard to branding the engines. Instead of paying the bill themselves and getting little extra attention, Red Bull would logically decide to sell the naming rights for its engines to someone else.

This was the case a few years ago when Red Bull used Renault engines but was able to sell the engine to TAG-Heuer. That was practical, but made little sense from an industrial point of view, as TAG-Heuer makes watches rather than motors.

After acquiring Honda technology, Red Bull could now (if allowed) move to another automaker and offer them a deal for the next few years. The engines will be called Hondas by the end of this year, but in a year there is no reason not to call them Alfa Romeos or Audis unless Honda specifically banned it in the agreement.

When Honda decided to stop its F1 team in late 2008, the operation was sold to team management under the direction of Ross Brawn. They renamed the company the Brawn Grand Prix, made a deal with Mercedes-Benz engines and promptly won the world championship. The team was then sold to Mercedes at the end of the year and converted to Mercedes F1 for 2010. Would Honda do the same thing all over again?

First impressions might be that it doesn’t make sense, but there is a solid argument that this might be a good idea because if the engines are successful under another name, it will still be known that they were designed by Honda .

The new Stellantis auto company is currently looking for ways to revamp its sports programs and has to consider what to do with Alfa Romeo. The current sponsorship from Sauber is of little value as the team uses Ferrari engines and the marketing value is definitely limited as the cars are in the back of the field most of the time. A change to the branding of the Red Bull engines makes perfect sense for the brand, as it would increase Alfa Romeo’s awareness as a Formula 1 winner with only moderate investments and help Red Bull cover the costs of all financial deals made with Honda.

There is also the possibility that Red Bull will agree to supply the engines to other teams with a different branding. For example, Aston Martin (closely associated with Red Bull) might consider the idea of ​​buying their engines from Red Bull and branding them as Aston Martin … Others might even consider such a move if other manufacturers showed interest.

Red Bull has not yet answered any questions as to whether the engines can be branded differently in the future.

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