It's Honda power for Red Bull Racing next season

It's official: Red Bull Racing will be using Honda Formula 1 engines starting next season. That means the duo of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen will be running identical power units as their junior team, Toro Rosso. That said, it's been a month since the FIA set the engine supplier deadline but it looks like the governing body allowed the move nonetheless. As Formula 1 themselves reported, RBR has been frustrated with Renault, opening the door for Honda.

So what made Red Bull Racing switch engine suppliers? As far back as 2017, it has been reported that the team will split with Renault by the end of the 2018 season. With the deal with Honda, it's the final nail in the coffin between RBR and Renault, which has been their engine supplier since 2007. The team's last championship title was in 2013 with Sebastian Vettel, currently driving for Scuderia Ferrari. At the moment, RBR stands third in the constructor's championship.

“We have been impressed by Honda’s commitment to F1, by the rapid steps they have made in recent times with our sister team Scuderia Toro Rosso, and by the scope of their ambition, which matches our own. This multi-year agreement with Honda signals the start of an exciting new phase in Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s efforts to compete not just for Grand Prix wins but for what is always our goal – championship titles,” said Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner.

With that, it will be the first time Honda will be supplying engines to two teams, which was one of the goals of the Japanese marque when they returned to Formula 1. Red Bull Racing will be running the said engines and power units until 2020. Should the pairing prove successful, Red Bull Racing, along with Toro Rosso, might go well into the next decade with Honda power.