Official: Honda extends with Red Bull and Toro Rosso for 2021

After a highly controversial divorce with Renault in 2018, Red Bull had to prove that its partnership with Honda was not simply one of convenience. Moreover, the desire to have its own engine manufacturer has always been a major wish of the Austrian team.

Even though reliability remains a major drawback of the Japanese engine block, it has made enormous progress in performance. The Brazilian Grand Prix proved it well when Pierre Gasly managed to beat Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes in terms of top speed. Generally speaking, this weekend, the Japanese engine was going 3 km/h faster than the others.

With only one race remaining this season, we can already assess this partnership, which promises only good things for the future. To put it simply, Red Bull-Honda in 2019 achieved 8 podiums, including 3 victories, and secured a third place in the constructors’ championship. It is Max Verstappen who achieved all the team’s results. The Dutchman broke his record for the number of wins in a season and currently holds third position in the drivers’ championship, only behind the two Mercedes.

For their part, Toro Rosso are having the best season in their history, having already secured two podiums (Kvyat 3rd in Germany and Gasly 2nd in Brazil). Two Top 3 finishes obtained after completely crazy races where each time the small team from Faenza managed to stand out against their competitors. Currently 6th in the championship, Toro Rosso could well succeed in taking the fifth place from Renault if they manage to score at least 8 more points than the French team in the final round in Abu Dhabi this weekend.

An announcement that comes just after rumors about a possible withdrawal of Honda in 2021 due to not agreeing on the budget.