SUMMARY
- Red Bull's recent success credited to RB19 and Honda engines, with praise for their role.
- Despite initial struggles, Red Bull's partnership with Honda led to championship victories.
The RB19 has garnered praise for being the key to recent successes for Red Bull, with Honda engines playing a significant role in its achievements. The Japanese engine manufacturers landed a deal with Red Bull from 2019 onwards, after a long-standing partnership with Renault. After struggling with much slower cars in the years before the agreement, the Milton Keynes-based team realized that they needed a more championship-worthy power unit.
The Austrian outfit enjoyed its glory days when German driver Sebastian Vettel took the front wheel. This dominance lasted for about five years between 2009 to 2014, during the TAG Heuer-badged Renault era. However, the team witnessed a huge dip when the team dynamics evolved and with the joining of new drivers like Daniel Ricciardo. Nonetheless, the team swiftly moved past the rough patch.
Honda: The Red Bull success story
In the early 2010s, the team had excellent results in partnering with Renault. The aerodynamic miracles created by Adrian Newey matched the Renault engines flawlessly. A major shift occurred in 2014 with the launch of hybrid engines. The Renault engines began to exhibit an apparent performance gap with Mercedes, even if Red Bull was still competitive.
No engine manufacturer has won more than Honda since partnering up with Red Bull in 2019.
Honda (RBPT): 53 wins
Mercedes: 40 wins
Ferrari: 8 wins
Renault: 1 winsA Honda engine has won 52% of all races since 2019. What an incredible turnaround from the McLaren-Honda days. pic.twitter.com/FHqcRHyGzy
— Daniel Valente 🏎️ (@F1GuyDan) November 8, 2023
In the next few years, the heyday of Red Bull faded. Although they kept winning races and contending for podium spots, championship victories were more and more unlikely. During the 2017 season, the now champions barely won three races throughout the season. Ricciardo ended the campaign with the P5 spot, followed by Max Verstappen in the drivers’ standings.
Choosing to go with Honda engines starting in 2019 was a daring move made by Red Bull in 2018. Their intention to take Mercedes on once more was made clear by this move. The groundwork laid during the early Honda partnership paid off in 2021. Verstappen earned his first, yet controversial, championship title that year, ending Mercedes’ long reign.
📊 | F1 Power Unit performance rankings:
1. Red Bull (Honda)
1. Ferrari
2. Mercedes (A few HP behind Red Bull and Ferrari)
3. Renault (10 HP down on power)With their PU disadvantage Renault lose around 2/3 tenths per lap pic.twitter.com/M4xea8Qxtj
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) July 26, 2023
It is interesting to note that the last time the Austrian outfit suffered from a DNF was during the Bahrain Grand Prix of 2022 amidst fuel pressure issues. The two drivers, Verstappen and Sergio Perez earned no points as the race was halted abruptly for Red Bull. However, Red Bull maintained their success in 2022 and 2023, winning the driver and constructor championships throughout both of those years.
The 2023 champions’ decision to part ways with Honda
As unfortunate as it might sound, Red Bull is ending its partnership with the Japanese engine suppliers. In 2021, Honda declared its departure from F1 but struck a deal to supply power units to Red Bull until the current engine regulations conclude in 2025. But in 2026, Honda plans to come back to the series as Aston Martin’s manufacturing partner.
Speaking on this issue, team principal Christian Horner said, “We wouldn’t have made that jump had it not been for Honda’s withdrawal. In many respects, we should be grateful for them giving us that push to create our own engine facility. The partnership we have with Ford is particularly exciting for the future and the commitment from Red Bull and the shareholders to the project.”
The 3x champion has openly voiced his disappointment due to the recent developments. The arrival of Red Bull Powertrains has mitigated the effects of Milton Keynes’ cost limitations, which were imposed in 2021. Conflicts surfaced even after the 2022 talks, particularly concerning the hybrid components, as Honda turned its focus on electrifying its road vehicles.