After eight seasons, the partnership between Red Bull and engine supplier Honda will come to an end in 2026. The Japanese company will switch to Aston Martin, while the Austrian racing team will start developing their own power units from next year. With the end of the Honda era at Red Bull, the Japanese manufacturer also bids farewell to Max Verstappen. However, Honda’s top executive Koji Watanabe hopes for a future reunion with the four-time world champion.
Honda has been supplying engines to the Red Bull family since 2018. The Japanese engine supplier first had a year to design the power unit for Red Bull’s sister team before they started collaborating with the Austrian racing team itself in 2019. Thus, Honda was there when Max Verstappen won his first world title in 2021, and the Dutchman also won the next three world championships with a Honda engine in his Red Bull.
Reunion with Verstappen
However, the collaboration between Honda and Red Bull will come to an end in 2026, when the Japanese manufacturer will start working with Aston Martin. The Austrian racing team, under the name Red Bull Powertrains and with the help of Ford, will start producing their own power units from the next season. As a result, Honda will also have to say goodbye to Verstappen, although top executive Koji Watanabe hopes he can work with the four-time world champion again in the future.
“Although we never know what the future holds, it would be a very exciting reunion if we could work together with Max Verstappen again,” the Japanese executive tells RN365. “We have a lot of respect for him because of his fantastic talent and passion.”
In addition, the Dutch driver also provides a lot of useful feedback to Honda. “He played a very important role in the development of our power unit,” Watanabe continues. “Max has a good feel for the power unit and the machine and can thus provide accurate feedback to engineers. This was very useful for us in the development of the engine.”
