Red Bull got 'sick' of Honda's indecision leading to Ford tie-up, feels former F1 driver

Red Bull probably got tired of Honda's indecisive nature and moved on to Ford. That was the view of former F1 driver Christijan Albers as he talked about why the Austrian team decided not to continue their association with Honda beyond 2025.

Honda have been notorious for their fickle nature in F1. The brand pulled out suddenly at the end of the 2008 season following the global economic meltdown after having invested millions into the project for 2009. Honda's car that year was a dominant machine but with Ross Brawn at the helm as the brand had sold the team to the former Ferrari legend.

Similarly, Honda pulled the plug once again at the end of the 2021 season amidst a competitive partnership with Red Bull, only to return in 2023. Albers said on the latest De Telegraaf podcast that the Milton Keynes-based outfit probably got tired of the fickle nature of the brand and moved to Ford. He said:

“I think they just got tired of those negotiations. Honda was so indecisive. Honda decided to pull the plug, and yet now they’re back again. I think Red Bull was just sick of that.”

Speaking about the impact of the curtailed development time for Red Bull due to the cost cap breach penalty, Albers feels it would not be a major deterrent, and the team would find a way around it. He said:

“Red Bull is a rich team. They have enough budget. Yes, there is a budget cap, but there are still quite a few exceptions. There is still quite a lot that can be done. Like Mercedes, they can reshuffle things a bit with the engine department now. They can mess around quite a bit.”

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Chinese wall between RBPT and Honda's current power unit - Red Bull

Honda's current association with Red Bull's powertrain division will be impacted when the Japanese company and the Austrian team split after the 2025 season.

Team boss Christian Horner said that there's a clear wall when it comes to working on the power unit for the 2026 regulations and the one currently being supplied by Honda. He said:

“We have an agreement and great relationship with Honda until the end of 2025. There’s no crossover of intellectual property; all the Honda engines are produced in Japan and everything on the RB Powertrains side is very much focused on 2026.”

Horner added:

“So there is a clear Chinese wall between the two activities, but we’re obviously going to be working with Honda over the next few years to achieve the best results that we can.”

The Austrian team will go up against the might of Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault, and Audi in 2026. It's difficult to quantify the scale of the challenge that awaits the team. Will it succeed? While it's tough to predict what happens next, it surely makes for an interesting prospect.