Things are quickly beginning to change at Red Bull Racing after missing out on winning the constructors’ championship last year.
Although Max Verstappen expertly delivered a fourth drivers’ championship in 2024, the team were nowhere near as strong as they had been during previous seasons.
Red Bull watched on as Sergio Perez struggled and despite handing him a new contract halfway through the year, they reached the inevitable conclusion at the start of the winter break that they needed to move on.
Liam Lawson has been promoted into his seat, but with just 11 Grand Prix starts under his belt, it’s hard to know exactly how he’ll cope with the pressure of racing for a front-running Formula 1 team.
There’s plenty of change going on behind the scenes at Red Bull too.
Adrian Newey’s start date at Aston Martin is quickly approaching after deciding to part ways with Red Bull last year, while Jonathan Wheatley is preparing to take over as Sauber’s team principal.
Red Bull have also lost Will Courtenay to McLaren, although he won’t join up with his new employers until next season.
While team principal Christian Horner is confident Red Bull can deal with the loss of several key personnel, the manufacturer are also preparing for their partnership with Honda to end.
Verstappen has enjoyed all of his success in F1 alongside Honda at Red Bull, which might be playing on his mind when it comes to making a decision on his future.
A report from Motorsport has highlighted one plan Red Bull and Honda came up with to try and save the relationship that never came to fruition.
Red Bull and Honda considered ‘risky’ plan to continue Formula 1 partnership
Honda Racing’s president Koji Watanabe discussed one idea the two parties had for 2026 and explained: “During our regular conversations we discussed the option of Red Bull doing the internal combustion engine themselves and us doing the electrical parts.
“But that wouldn’t have been easy at all if they only made the ICE and we did the electrical parts, so in the end we found out that it was impossible to collaborate under these conditions.”
READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links
The idea was described as ‘risky’ for two important reasons.
Producing internal combustion engine parts in England and hybrid components in Japan would have been complicated and made an ‘already complex’ process even harder.
Additionally, neither Honda nor Red Bull would have had complete control over the final product.
Any issues with the parts produced by one party would indirectly impact the other, but neither team would be able to have any influence on the other group’s work.
Max Verstappen forced to put his faith in the Red Bull Powertrains project
Red Bull have been preparing for Honda’s departure for some time and set up the Red Bull Powertrains project in response.
They’ll be working alongside Ford to build their first Formula 1 power unit, and have poached many members of staff from Mercedes to help get up to speed.
It’s previously been suggested that Verstappen’s Red Bull future could be tied to the success of the Red Bull Powertrains project.
Verstappen has enjoyed an incredible period of success working with Honda and Newey and with the pair teaming up at Aston Martin, that option may end up becoming more and more tempting.
READ MORE: Honda president has just said the last thing Adrian Newey wants to hear ahead of Aston Martin partnership
Speaking to Viaplay, Verstappen said of Red Bull’s partnership with Honda: “The very first win was so emotional for them.
“For them, of course, that was really satisfying, because they had a really difficult start returning to Formula 1. But they never gave up. I think that is also typical of the Japanese mentality.
“They will never give up and sometimes Europeans can really just learn something from that.
“That is also nice to see with the engineers, for example. You do work together with a lot of different cultures and it does work. I really enjoy being part of that.”
All eyes are on whether Honda can replicate that success with Aston Martin, and if so, the impact that has on the entire Formula 1 paddock.
Leave feedback about this