Honda Extends Power Unit Contract With Red Bull, Toro Rosso To 2021

Honda announced that it will be powering Red Bull and Toro Rosso into the new regulation era in 2021 following a decision to extend their contracts.

Toro Rosso was the first of the two Red Bull-owned teams to switch to Honda in 2018 before Red Bull also took on Honda powertrains in 2019. They signed an agreement that would extend to the 2020 season.

It was probably experimental on the part of Red Bull, and since the performance of the junior team improved significantly, they decided to move ahead with Honda as well.

Thus far, it has been a profitable investment considering the improved performance of Red Bull during the previous two years after the arrival of Max Verstappen, Alex Albon, and Pierre Gasly.

Partnering with Red Bull made Honda a race winner in Formula 1 again when Verstappen ended a 13-year victory drought at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Verstappen has also since scored further victories while the other two drivers have finished the top eight several times.

All of these drivers have shown immense potential and will be the top considerations for the championship win in the 2020 and 2021 seasons following the potential retirement of Lewis Hamilton from the sport.

Honda has to, however, cut spending to secure the future of the F1 Programme. Apparently, it was waiting for the publication of Formula 1’s range of new regulations for 2021 before it pushed forward with a decision. Honda claimed they would start evaluating the costs of being within the regulation cycle.

The news came after rumors suggesting the brand would leave Formula 1 in the wake of rising expenditure.

Though the performance levels have increased since returning to Formula 1 with McLaren in 2015, Honda’s commitment to the sport after the regulation changes was not something set in stone.

Reports suggest the board at Honda were not convinced that Formula 1 is worth the costing laid out for the brand as a power train provider for Red Bull and Toro Rosso teams.

The rumors also implied Honda was not as impressed by the hybrid considerations for Formula 1 versus the Research opportunity that Electric technology posed.

Honda’s Formula 1 managing director Masashi Yamamoto gave a statement, following Red Bull’s victory in Interlagos, that it was positive to have good results. However, he also prioritized a balance with the cost.

He said they have to place a lot of money budget for their development in order to catch up with the top runners.

He added they were currently planning on the means to maintain current conditions while reducing the costs at the same time.