Milton Keynes gearing up to welcome Honda F1 staff to Red Bull Powertrains

Christian Horner revealed that the Honda UK staff will be Red Bull Powertrains (RBPT) staff by the end of February, in an exclusive interview with RacingNews365. The Austrian team's principal also mentioned that the engine will be badged as a "Red Bull" engine although it will be manufactured in Japan for the 2022 season.

Explaining the transition of Honda staff to Red Bull Powertrains, Horner said:

“All the Honda staff, at the end of February, [will come] to our employment. But all the working personnel from HRD UK [Honda Racing Development] will transfer over to us, so the engines will continue to be serviced out of Honda’s service until RBPT [Red Bull Powertrains] dynos and work are finalized around May or June [2022].”

While Milton Keynes gears up to welcome Honda personnel, they will still have their engines manufactured in Japan for the transition year of 2022. Horner mentioned that the team will still receive race support from Honda’s Japanese division.

Revealing the details of the 2022 transition year, Horner said:

“The engine will be branded as a Red Bull engine… As part of our agreement with Honda, the engines continue to be assembled in Japan, in Sakura, and support [will come] with technical assistance from Japan.”

From 2023 onwards, the team is expected to manufacture the same engine in its RBPT facility. The Austrian team’s deal with Honda includes the acquisition of the engine IP, which allows the Milton Keynes squad to manufacture the same engine on their own. The Japanese manufacturer will have a marketing and branding collaboration with the team, but will not be present in F1 in the capacity of a manufacturer.

Explaining the details of the technical agreement with Honda, Horner said:

“The probability is that the engines will, as per 2022, continue to be produced and built in Japan and shipped to us. They’ll come as sealed units from Japan; all the race support will happen from Japan as well this year. It’s a technical agreement, so it’s a very broad brush at the moment.”

The four-time world champions will become the first independent team to manufacture their own engine, apart from the Alpine F1 team that already exists in the capacity of a factory outfit. The 2026 engine rules might make room for other independent manufacturers to enter the sport, such as Audi and Porsche.

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While sister team Alpha Tauri has chosen a Valentines Day launch for their 2022 F1 car, the main team is yet to announce the unveiling date for their RB19. The Milton Keynes-based outfit’s car launch is much anticipated by audiences, especially due to their aerodynamic wizardry that is in effect with the new regulations.