After 12 years and eight World Championship titles with Renault, Red Bull has agreed a new power unit deal with Honda. While the team name will remain Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, the Japanese manufacturer will supply engines for 2019 and 2020.
Honda will replace Renault as the driving force behind Red Bull’s Formula 1 title ambitions for the start of the 2019 season.
Discussing the deal, team principle Christian Horner said, “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. 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 (which started in 2018), 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.”
Takahiro Hachigo, president and representative director of Honda, added, “Having established a good relationship with Scuderia Toro Rosso, we have decided to extend our Formula 1 involvement to the other team in the Red Bull family, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, as from the 2019 season.
“Having two teams means we can access twice as much data as previously. We believe that working with both Toro Rosso and Red Bull Racing will allow us to get closer to our goal of winning races and championships, building two strong partnerships.”
