“If we knew Honda would stay, we wouldn’t have built an engine department”

Christian Horner says Red Bull “wouldn’t have started” its Formula 1 engine program if they knew Honda would return to the championship in 2026.

Honda announced that it would leave Formula 1 in 2021, but decided to supply engines to Red Bull and AlphaTauri by the end of 2025.

The Japanese manufacturer, which is currently “not officially involved” in the game, has decided to return to the game in 2026 when the new rules come into effect.

But they will come back with Aston Martin because Red Bull has already introduced its power unit.

Max Verstappen, who has won the championship with Honda in the last two years and is on his way to his third championship, described Honda’s deal with Aston Martin as “sad”.

Horner admits that Red Bull would not have created his department if it had been known from the start.

Horner said: “This is definitely a costly decision!”

“In terms of Red Bull’s future, we are no longer customers.”

“I think the synergy of using a power unit fully integrated with the chassis and working side by side with the engine and chassis engineers will be very beneficial in the long run.”

“But we wouldn’t have made it if it wasn’t for Honda’s decision to pull out.”

After the introduction of Red Bull Powertrains, Red Bull had the opportunity to hire more people and will soon work with Ford.

“We thank you for encouraging us to build our engine plant,” Horner said.

“The work that this project has created and delivered, the partnership that we have created with Ford, the commitment of Red Bull and the shareholders in the project is exciting for the future.”

“If we knew what Honda’s decision was today, would we have made the same decision? Not.”

“But now we’ve made that decision and we’re committed. As we move forward, we think it’s going to be more beneficial to our group in the long term.” say.