Red Bull take 'written assurances' from 'restrictive' Honda about cooperation until 2025

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has revealed that the team has taken written assurances from Honda when it comes to the commitment to the project until 2025. The partnership between the Japanese brand and the Austrian team will end at the end of the 2025 F1 season.

Beyond that, for the 2026 F1 season, Honda has announced a partnership with Aston Martin. To quell any suggestions of the Japanese brand having a longer-term vision in place and shifting focus to its future partners, Helmut Marko has revealed that written assurances have already been taken by Red Bull to prevent that from happening.

Marko told Motorsport-Magazin.com:

“We have received written assurances that the priority will not change until 2025 and that they – like us – will continue to work with full commitment to win more World Championships. Honda is very restrictive with their communications as far as the engine is concerned. The intellectual property and all that is exclusive to Honda and we don’t get any detailed information.”

Looking back at the talks breaking down between Honda and Red Bull for a further association, Marko explained that the entire saga was a result of the Japanese brand leaving the sport at the end of the 2021 F1 season and then changing its mind later in 2022. He said:

“The departure [from Honda] was not involuntary, we first had to react and then, when Honda decided last year to continue, there was no more common path that would have been satisfying for both of us. There were talks about a possible cooperation, but we couldn’t agree with Honda on who would do what. This situation arose with Ford as a partner, which does not have this Formula 1 experience, but can also contribute a lot in the battery sector."

Red Bull powertrain is doing really well at the moment

Talking about the Austrian team's independent power unit program, Marko said that everything was working as planned and things were operating at the level that many would expect them to. He said:

"Red Bull Powertrains is doing really well at the moment. We’re on track. All the engines that have already been built are more or less at the level you would expect.”

In all of this, it does remain to be seen whether the Austrian team will be able to get the power unit up and running at the level top constructors like Ferrari, Mercedes, and Co. would be able to.