F1 News: Red Bull Breaking Relationship With Honda - "Don't Tell Us Anything"
Apart from Adrian Newey's RB19 design for Red Bull which has helped dominate the F1 grid, a part of the credit also goes to the power units supplied by Honda, who will be ending its relationship with Red Bull once the current era of engine regulations ceases to exist. However, with yet another year to pass, Honda is focussing on improving its power units further.
Currently, Formula 1 finds itself amidst an engine freeze that prevents teams from conducting performance-related developments until 2026. However, the teams are allowed to improve areas that pertain to the engine's reliability.
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President of Honda Racing Corporation Koji Watanabe believes that the durability of the Honda Power Unit can be improved further for the next season. This could be a crucial development because as a power unit ages, the degradation can lead to a drop in performance.
Formula 1 teams are allowed to use three power units and related hybrid ancillaries in 2023. Thus, it is important to ensure that the power unit's output doesn't degrade through the season to maintain competitiveness.
Watanabe told the Dutch publication De Telegraaf that the longevity of their power units in Red Bull cars can be improved further. He said:
“In terms of power and performance, we may not improve anything, but in other areas, we can make strides even with this engine.
"At Ferrari, for example, they have developed the engine considerably and Mercedes’ ERS system is also very strong.
"We will also improve our engine for next year in terms of its longevity. So there is definitely something in the pipeline.”
The matter brings us to the relationship between Honda and Red Bull which gradually heads toward a dead end in 2026, considering Red Bull's future partnership with Ford as part of Red Bull Powertrains for the next era of power units while Honda would partner with Aston Martin.
After nearly 18 months, Honda and Red Bull would compete with each other and as a result, Watanabe says there is no communication between the two parties that pertains to new power units. He adds:
“Red Bull doesn’t tell us anything about their engine, and we don’t say anything to them about our development.
"So there is already a kind of information war going on at the moment. At Red Bull, they do have some knowledge about our current engine but, ultimately, we are responsible for the development and the whole process.
"Most of the knowledge is with us.
"Until 2025, I hope Red Bull wins everything. And from 2026, we will hopefully be their biggest competitor. Building a completely new engine is a huge challenge, but our goal is also to win a championship in the next era.”
