Monte Carlo [Monaco], May 27 : Japanese giant Honda who currently is the official engine partner of Red Bull announced that they will be returning in a formal capacity and joining forces with Red Bull's rival Aston Martin from 2026.
According to Sky Sports, reacting to this development Red Bull's Team Principal Christian Horner during the Monaco GP practice session Friday stated that his team wouldn't have set up their own engine division if they had any idea of Honda's return to F1.
Honda officially announced their exit from F1 in 2020 and continued being Red Bull's official engine partner till 2021. However, they then agreed to supply engines for Red Bull as a paid contractor from 2022 to 2025.
With Honda's partnership ending in 2025, Red Bull set up their powertrains to build their own engines from 2026. The team's power unit division will be assisted by American car giant Ford.
"Would we have made a same decision knowing what Honda's decision is today? Absolutely not!" Horner told Sky Sports after the end of the first practice at the Monaco Grand Prix on Friday.
However, Horner stated that they are committed to their decision and have outgrown being a customer. "But we've made it, and we're committed to it, the more we've got involved the more benefit we see to the group long term. For the long term, the prospects of Red Bull, we've outgrown being a customer."
"For us to have the power unit on sight, with the chassis, the synergies that create, with engine and chassis engineers sitting next to each other, the advantages are significant. We would have not made that jump if it had not been for Honda's withdrawal," Horner said.
As per Sky Sports, Horner also credited Honda with Red Bull's success in recent years and stated his excitement for the new partnership with Ford. "We should be grateful to Honda for giving us that push to create our own engine facility, the jobs it's created, and then the partnership that we have with Ford that's particularly exciting for the future."
Red Bull broke Mercedes's dominant streak to snatch the Driver's championship in 2021 and the Constructor championship in 2022 and is dominating the 2023 season with both the drivers at the top position in the Driver championship rankings so far.
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