Honda to leave F1 next year following shock announcement

Honda, which supplies engines to Red Bull and AlphaTauri, has announced it is to pull out of Formula One at the end of 2021 in a major shock which carries weighty ramifications for both Red Bull and the sport. Only three engine manufacturers remain in F1 and Red Bull face limited options in engine supply, while the sport must now consider which direction it takes in power units to ensure its future.

Honda returned to Formula One in 2015 with McLaren and endured three difficult years during which their engine was well off the pace. When McLaren dropped them they supplied Toro Rosso for one year in 2018 and Red Bull took them on as a works partner in 2019, since when they have enjoyed some success.

Challenging

Max Verstappen scored three wins for the team last year and won at Silverstone in August but they are not challenging for the championship. Honda, however, insist the decision was not made because of performance.

F1 uses turbo-hybrid power units in which the petrol-fuelled internal combustion engine still plays a central role. Honda announced at a press conference on Friday that their interests as a car manufacturer were no longer best represented by F1, stating that the industry was undergoing a “once-in-one-hundred-years period of great transformation”. The company’s intent is to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and to focus on future power units with the goal of carbon-free technology.