Red Bull and Honda’s Formula 1 Connection Continues Despite Off…. read more 👇 full details in the comments 

Although Red Bull and Honda officially ended their long-standing Formula 1 partnership after the 2025 season, an unusual contractual arrangement means the two motorsport giants are still working together behind the scenes.

The collaboration between Red Bull and Honda began in 2018 when Honda supplied power units to Red Bull’s sister team, Toro Rosso, now known as Racing Bulls. After encouraging results, Red Bull switched from Renault engines to Honda power for the 2019 season, marking the start of one of the most successful partnerships in modern Formula 1 history.

At the time, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner had grown increasingly frustrated with Renault’s performance during the hybrid era. Despite Red Bull possessing one of the strongest chassis designs on the grid, Horner believed the team lacked the engine power needed to consistently challenge for world championships. Honda’s arrival provided a fresh opportunity, and the Japanese manufacturer quickly proved it could deliver competitive performance.

The partnership soon flourished. Honda steadily improved its power unit, and a major upgrade introduced ahead of the 2021 season played a crucial role in helping Max Verstappen secure his first Drivers’ Championship. Verstappen’s dramatic title victory at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix remains one of the defining moments of the Red Bull-Honda era.

Ironically, Honda had already announced plans to reduce its involvement in Formula 1 by the time that championship success arrived. However, the company did not completely walk away from the sport. Instead, Honda continued supporting Red Bull as the team established its own engine division, Red Bull Powertrains. This transitional arrangement remained in place through the end of the 2025 campaign.

With Formula 1 entering a new technical era in 2026, both organizations moved in different directions. Honda signed a new works partnership with Aston Martin, while Red Bull entered a high-profile collaboration with Ford to develop the next generation of power units.

Despite these changes, the relationship between Red Bull and Honda has not fully ended.

The reason lies in a little-known contractual clause connected to Testing Previous Cars (TPC) sessions. Under Formula 1 regulations, teams are allowed to run older machinery for testing and driver development purposes. Due to the extensive rule changes introduced for 2026, the FIA relaxed previous restrictions, allowing teams to use more recent cars during these sessions.

This created an unexpected challenge for Red Bull. The team cannot simply install its new Red Bull Powertrains-Ford engines into its 2025 car for TPC running. As a result, Red Bull still requires Honda-powered units to keep those older cars operational during testing programs.

To solve the issue, Red Bull and Honda agreed to extend their cooperation specifically for TPC activities through 2027. Under the arrangement, Honda will continue supplying 2025-specification power units for both Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls whenever the teams conduct testing sessions using their previous-generation cars.

The agreement also includes technical support from Honda personnel. Engineers from the Japanese manufacturer will attend selected tests and provide assistance when necessary to ensure the power units operate correctly.

Importantly, this ongoing relationship does not represent a renewed technical partnership between the two companies. Honda is not contributing to the development of Red Bull’s current Formula 1 project, nor is it involved with the Ford-backed power unit program. Instead, the arrangement exists purely to meet testing requirements under the sport’s regulations.

The cooperation is expected to continue only until Red Bull has access to an older RBPT-Ford-powered car that qualifies for TPC regulations. Once that becomes possible, Honda’s remaining involvement with Red Bull will come to an end.

Evidence of the agreement was seen recently when Red Bull carried out a TPC session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya shortly after the Spanish Grand Prix. Such tests remain valuable for driver preparation, engineering evaluations, and development work away from the pressures of a race weekend.

While Honda and Red Bull may now be focused on separate futures, this unusual contractual clause ensures that one of Formula 1’s most successful modern partnerships still has a little more life left in it before finally reaching its conclusion.