Engine supplier Honda will leave Formula 1 at the end of 2021, the Japanese manufacturer announced on Friday. The news means that Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri are looking for a new engine supplier.
“The automotive industry is currently undergoing a major transformation, which you only see once every hundred years. We aim to be CO2 neutral by 2050, which is a top priority within the company,” Honda explains the decision on its website.
Honda has been the engine supplier to Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen’s team, and sister team AlphaTauri since 2018. In the three years before that, the Japanese manufacturer had an unsuccessful partnership with McLaren.
Since 2018, Verstappen has won four Grands Prix. Pierre Gasly also triumphed once on behalf of AlphaTauri with a Honda engine.
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Last year in Austria, Verstappen gave Honda its first Formula 1 win in thirteen years. (Photo: Pro Shots)
Renault is obliged to offer engines
With the departure of Honda, three engine suppliers remain in Formula 1: Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault. Red Bull left Renault at the end of 2017 to partner with Honda.
Under current Formula 1 rules, Renault will be obliged to supply an engine to the two teams from 2022, as the French brand supplies the smallest number of teams in Formula 1 with a power source. This can only be deviated from if Red Bull and AlphaTauri can convince another manufacturer to enter into a partnership. It is not obvious that Mercedes and Ferrari will hand over an engine to the competitor.
Like the other eight teams, Red Bull and AlphaTauri recently signed the Concorde Agreement, which means that both teams will remain active in Formula 1 at least until 2025.
“We will continue to do our utmost to achieve more victories until the end of the 2021 season,” Honda promises. “After that, we will take up the challenge of becoming CO2 neutral.”
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