The partnership between Red Bull Racing and Honda Motor Co. will continue beyond the 2021 Formula 1 season, even with the latter withdrawing from the sport at the end of the current season.

An agreement between the two parties means Red Bull will take over the intellectual rights of the Honda power units for 2022, with Honda continuing to build the engines and offer some trackside assistance next season.

The three key points of the agreement between the two companies are:

Red Bull Powertrains has the right to use Honda’s IP relating to the Power Unit.Honda will support Red Bull Powertrains in building the 2022 PU and also provide trackside and race operation support from Japan throughout the 2022 season, and from 2023, Red Bull Powertrains will take responsibility for all manufacturing and servicing of Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri’s engines.Employees of Honda Racing Development UK (Milton Keynes) will become employees of Red Bull Powertrains.

The two young driver programmes – Red Bull Junior Team and Honda Dream Project – will continue working together, while the two teams are looking at other options to work together in other forms of motorsport outside of Formula 1.

“I’m glad that we have reached an agreement with Red Bull Group covering all the details of the IP rights for the F1 Power Unit and in this way, Honda can still contribute to the motor racing world,” said Koji Watanabe, the Chief Officer for Brand and Communication Operations at Honda Motor Co.

“We are now working hard to strengthen HRC’s structure, so that it can ensure our fans will be able to continue to enjoy Honda’s role in all types of motorsport.”

Christian Horner, the Team Principal of Red Bull Racing, has also welcomed the news that Honda will continue their alliance with Red Bull beyond the current Formula 1 campaign.

“Red Bull’s collaboration with Honda has been enormously successful and while our relationship in Formula 1 is changing, neither of us wish for that to be the end of the story,” said Horner.

“We are very pleased that our ambitious and exciting Red Bull Powertrains project will be strongly supported by Honda, technically and operationally, in 2022 and this will help ensure that Red Bull’s transition to the status of chassis and power unit manufacturer is seamless.

“Equally as exciting is the news that our collaboration with Honda will extend to a variety of motorsport activities, from driver development to other racing disciplines and even across the wider sporting world. This stretch of Honda’s Formula 1 voyage is coming to an end but together we are embarking on a new and fascinating journey.”