Five years after Honda re-entered Formula One as an engine supplier, it has announced its intention to leave the sport after 2021. Its time in F1 so far has been characterized by high-profile reliability problems, public disputes with McLaren, then occasional victories with Red Bull and AlphaTauri.
The brand's run has been tumultuous, with it struggling throughout its time to find the right balance of reliability and power in the complex turbo V-6 powerplant. McLaren was publicly critical of Honda's failures, leading to a messy split in 2017. Honda upped its reliability and power in 2018, when it began supplying Red Bull junior outfit Toro Rosso. Its partnership with Red Bull has seen notable success, but there are still reliability issues. So far in 2020, Red Bull has secured one victory, but faced engine issues in multiple races, with severe problems at the Red Bull Ring, Mugello, and Monza. That said, Honda also powered AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly to victory, becoming the only engine supplier of the V-6 turbo hybrid era to power two winning cars.
The company announced its decision at a press conference in Japan, citing high costs and a need to divert money toward fuel-cell and battery-electric vehicle development. Unsaid is the uncomfortable truth that its high-profile reliability problems and enormous cost of building F1 power units don't make the program particularly beneficial marketing for Honda. It still intends to design and compete with a new engine in 2021, but will exit at the conclusion of the season.
Its departure puts both Red Bull and AlphaTauri in a bind. Those teams, both owned by the Red Bull GmbH drink company, are committed to continuing in the sport. But Red Bull doesn't have a lot of options for power units. Mercedes is already planning to supply McLaren, Aston Martin (formerly Racing Point), and Williams next year, and is unlikely to want to power its fiercest competitor. Ferrari's engine is currently uncompetitive, plus the Scuderia may not like powering a team that may outshine its own. The only real option is Renault, the company that powered the Red Bull cars before Honda did. That's the likely course of action, but Red Bull was publicly critical of Renault after the two split and the working relationship may be fraught.
Regardless, it's tough to see a top-tier engine supplier leave the sport. Honda has a long history of racing and seeing its F1 program collapse is sad, but it also means F1 teams are left with fewer options and—realistically—Mercedes is left with less competition. And if you've kept up in 2020, you know that's the last thing this sport needs.
Arguably the most fickle member of the Road & Track staff, Reviews Editor Mack Hogan is likely the only person to ever cross shop an ND Miata with an Isuzu Vehicross. He founded the automotive reviews section of CNBC during his sophomore year of college and has been writing about cars ever since.
