In what is a bit of a surprise if you’re not inundated with the machinations of the 2018 Formula 1 season, this move by the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing team to ditch longtime engine partner Renault in favour of a resurgent Honda is a most definitely a significant one - the result of months in rumours and internal deliberations.
Many had already speculated that the Red Bull team’s top brass were seriously considering Honda’s latest F1 power unit after it was announced prior to the start of this year’s season that their secondary team, Torro Rosso, would adopt them in lieu of the Ferrari-sourced hybrid engines.
While the remainder of the 2018 season will see the Red Bull cars, piloted by Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, be powered by Renault, both RBR teams will sport identical power units starting in 2019. The deal established between the Milton Keynes-based Formula 1 team and the Japanese automaker locks them in collaboration for 2 years.
The Aston Martin Red Bull Racing team is currently third in the overall constructor’s championship standing behind points leader Mercedes-AMG Petronas and Scuderia Ferrari, and their decision to part ways with Renault speaks volumes about their confidence in Honda’s efforts and progress.
For their part, McLaren had been the first high profile F1 team to thrown in with Honda, returning to the F1 arena as engine supplier after a hiatus of nearly 7 years. Their re-emergence in 2015 as the McLaren Honda team was also the second coming of a successful partnership that had its heyday in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
However, reliability and power issues plagued these early Honda designed hybrid V6 power units, dropping McLaren from its front-running position in the constructor’s championship. Starting in 2018, ironically, the Woking-based team have been running Renault engines, and have made significant gains over their performance last year.
Clearly, Red Bull sees plenty of potential with the Honda power units now that the company and its engineers have the time and experience to refine and improve, perhaps looking to capitalise on their innovation just as it’s about to blossom, encouraged by the feedback garnered with a successful season working with Torro Rosso.
“This multi-year agreement with Honda signals the start of an exciting new phase in Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s efforts to compete not just for grand prix wins but for what is always our goal – championship titles. We have always taken decisions such as this dispassionately and with only one criteria in mind – do we believe the outcome will allow us to compete at a higher level,” says Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing team principal.
After careful consideration and evaluation we are certain this partnership with Honda is the right direction for the team. We have been impressed by Honda’s commitment to F1, by the rapid steps they have made in recent times with our sister team Scuderia Toro Rosso, and by the scope of their ambition, which matches our own. We look forward to working with Honda in the coming years and to racing together in pursuit of F1’s biggest prizes.”
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