Honda has opened the door to Red Bull taking their engine project in-house from 2022 following their decision to leave Formula 1.
Last Friday, the Japanese manufacturer surprised many by announcing their decision to leave the sport just seven years after returning with McLaren back in 2015.
Honda’s departure will end their partnership with Red Bull after only three years (four if you include AlphaTauri), and that has left the two teams facing the currently outside chance of having to mend fences with Renault if they can’t find another engine.
But amid rumours the Austrian brand may choose to buy Honda’s power unit project and develop them under their own name, that idea was met with some approval.
“If that kind of request is made from the team, I am ready to speak to Japan,” Honda F1 chief Masashi Yamamoto said via The Race. “I personally want to support [what Red Bull and AlphaTauri do] as much as possible.
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“Honda is happy to talk to them if they need us in any way, not only about the power unit but about other things as well,” he noted.
“To support AlphaTauri and Red Bull for their programme after 2021 in any way, we’re happy to cooperate.
“As Honda, we had so many things from the teams, so we want to give it back somehow in a nice way for the future.”
Their exit though is leading to questions over the future of another key piece of Red Bull’s current puzzle, Max Verstappen.
“It is of course a shame that Honda are leaving Formula 1, especially as we have such a good relationship and we really see the dedication of the people involved in the project which has always been very important for me,” the newly-turned 23-year-old reacted.
“In terms of what that means at the moment and what we are focused on, nothing has changed.
“We still have the rest of this season and next season to focus on together and we are still trying to be on the podium every single race, that’s a good target for us. Making sure that we maximise all the results that we can all the time.”
The Dutchman signed a new three-year deal at the start of this year but there was speculation he may have a release clause at the end of 2021 if performance didn’t meet expectations or, more importantly, if Honda left.
“There is no such clause in his contract,” team boss Christian Horner told Servus TV.
“The contracts between the driver and the team are private, but there is definitely no engine-related clause in Max’s contract.
“He is competitive. He feels very comfortable in the team and believes strongly in the Honda program.
“I think he also sees that Honda has brought forward the engine from 2022 to 2021. That is encouraging, of course.
“So we will take another step forward next year. He’s excited about this, and he still has a long way to go until 2022.”
As for what direction Red Bull might choose to go with the engine, the Red Bull chief was coy.
“Now the situation is clear and we have time, which we are grateful to Honda for, we must find a competitive power unit solution for 2022 and beyond,” he added.
“The time we now have will enable us to evaluate all options and possibilities. We have won races in the hybrid era with two different power units, so our focus is very much on the chassis and in terms of what that delivers, and whatever power unit we use – we will deliver with.
“We have seen all of the power units converging over the last 12 months and so the landscape is changing as everyone becomes more competitive.”
That isn’t stopping some though from suggesting Verstappen may see an opportunity to join Mercedes in 2022, although that would likely depend on the future of a Mr L. Hamilton.