Honda pulls back the curtain on what 'made it impossible to collaborate' with Red Bull as a power unit supplier for 2026

Honda has now spilled the beans on what made collaborating with Red Bull as a power unit supplier for 2026 impossible, and it stems from the brand's initial exit after 2021. The Japanese brand returned to F1 in 2015 with McLaren as a power unit partner.

At the time, the aim was to return to the glory days of 'McLaren-Honda' when the partnership dominated F1. That didn't happen as the Japanese brand and its British counterpart lacked synergy. The power units were below par, and the partnership would end without much success.

During this time, the partnership with Red Bull was on the table, and the Japanese brand decided to pursue the sport with the Austrian brand. The first season in 2019 yielded multiple wins for Max Verstappen, but things reached a new level in 2021 when the Dutch driver fought for the title and ultimately won.

During this time, Honda announced it was leaving the sport, with Red Bull caught off-guard once again with an engine partner after having an underwhelming experience with Renault. With the uncertainty around power units proving to be a limitation, the Austrian team decided it was time to build its power unit.

This was precisely how Red Bull Powertrains was conceived and it will roll out its first power unit in 2026 in association with Ford. During all of this, Honda decided to leave F1 in 2021 but changed its mind with the new power unit regulations for 2026, which proved to be a direction the brand wanted to pursue.

At this time, Red Bull was still pursuing a partner, and Honda, alongside Porsche and Ford, was in contention. However, with the Japanese brand only expected to have limited influence, the collaboration never happened. Lifting the lid on what made the partnership in 2026 impossible, Koji Watanabe, the head of operations, told Motorsport (via Planet F1):

"When we withdrew from Formula 1, Red Bull decided to establish its own power unit company. That is why there was basically no room to work together. We announced [we were] stopping our Formula 1 activities, but after discussions with Red Bull they wanted us to continue the activities. That’s why we became a kind of technical support since then. In fact, we still operate everything on the power unit side. From Honda’s point of view, the new F1 regulations for 2026, with the combustion engine being 50 per cent and the electrical parts being 50 per cent, are very attractive to both Honda and Honda Racing.

The direction with the carbon-neutral fuel is very good for us as well, so that is basically why we decided to officially return to Formula 1. 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.”

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Red Bull's partner Honda uncertain about 2026 power unit

In a recent interaction, Honda boss Koji Watanabe acknowledged that the Japanese brand was struggling with the power unit and was trying to place itself in the best possible position. The squad had a lot of overhaul work that it had to do when it shut shop in 2021 and then came back in 2022, which compromised the timeline to a certain extent.

The brand would, however, partner with Aston Martin in 2026 as it also embarks on a new journey. Watanabe told the media (via Planet F1):

“We are struggling. Now we are trying our best to show the result next year. Everything is new. The motor is a new 355-kW, very compact one we need. Also the lightweight battery, it’s not so easy to develop. And also the small engine with the big power. Everything is very difficult, but we try our best.”

As Honda embarks on a new journey, it would be interesting to see what is in store for the brand with Aston Martin as the partner.