Red Bull Considers F1 Return to Honda in Wake of Failed Deal with Porsche

The Red Bull racing marriage with Honda just might be getting another chance, as talks about re-firing a closer relationship are a "logical and interesting" step for Red Bull, team boss Christian Horner admits.

Logical and interesting in the wake of the collapse of Red Bull's talks with Porsche about a 50% works buy-in ended a potential deal. Red Bull team consultant Helmut Marko said he would instead be flying to Japan shortly for new talks with Honda.

Honda took an official step away from Formula 1 at the end of last year, but the Red Bull Powertrains-branded power units in the 2022 care are still based on Honda infrastructure.

In the meantime, Red Bull has been ramping up its very own engine operations.

"When Honda announced their exit from Formula 1, we changed our attitude and decided to build engines ourselves," Horner told European outlet Speed Week. "That was associated with a clear risk, so a partnership with a fantastic company like Porsche was considered. It would have made perfect sense. But at the same time we managed to attract highly qualified engineers who are among the best in Formula 1 for our engine project. We set up the factory in 55 weeks and we already have our first V6 on the test bench.