Prima del comunicato Honda arrivano quelli di Red Bull Racing e Scuderia AlphaTauri: Honda Motor Company ha deciso di lasciare la F1 a fine stagione 2021.
Davvero un’ottima pubblicità per la Formula 1 dove non solo non arrivano nuovi Costruttori come vorrebbe la stessa FIA, ma se ne vanno anche gli attuali, Una bella patata bollente, la prima, per il nuovo presidente e CEO di Liberty Media Stefano Domenicali, che assumerà l’incarico a gennaio 2021.
“Red Bull Racing acknowledges the decision by the Honda Motor Company to withdraw from Formula One at the end of the 2021 season and would like to thank the company for its exceptional efforts as power unit supplier to both Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri. Our Team partnership provided immediate success with Max Verstappen scoring Honda’s first victory since 2006 at the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix, followed by three further victories and 13 podium finishes in just 31 race starts. Additionally, Scuderia AlphaTauri’s victory at this year’s Italian Grand Prix saw Honda become the only power unit manufacturer to win with two different teams since the start of Formula One’s hybrid era in 2014. This decision does not affect Honda’s commitment to achieving our shared goals during the remainder of our partnership as we aim to build on our joint success until the end of 2021.
Commenting on today’s announcement, Team Principal Christian Horner, said: “As a Team we understand how difficult it has been for Honda Motor Company to reach the decision to step back from Formula One at the end of the 2021 season. The shifting focus within the automotive industry has led to Honda’s decision to re-deploy their resources and we understand and respect the reasoning behind this. Their decision presents obvious challenges for us as a Team but we have been here before and with our strength in depth we are well prepared and equipped to respond effectively, as we have proven in the past. Whilst we are disappointed not to continue our partnership with Honda, we are enormously proud of our joint success, delivering five wins and 15 podiums for both Red Bull owned teams and we thank everyone at Honda for their extraordinary efforts and commitment. Our joint focus for the remainder of the 2020 and 2021 seasons are unchanged, to fight for victories and challenge for the championship. As a signatory to Formula One’s latest Concorde Agreement, Red Bull Racing remains committed to the sport in the long term and we look forward to embarking on a new era of innovation, development and success. As a group, we will now take the time afforded to us to further evaluate and find the most competitive power unit solution for 2022 and beyond.”
Franz Tost. AlphaTauri Team Principal: “Scuderia AlphaTauri and Honda have built up a very good and professional relationship since we started to cooperate in 2018. We enjoyed great success together in the last few years, winning a race and finishing on the podium twice, with one second and one third place. It’s unfortunate that Honda has decided to stop their commitment in Formula One, because their Power Unit’s performance has been improving constantly and dramatically to become one of the best engines on the grid in a short period of time, since they returned to the sport. I’m convinced that together we will continue to achieve strong results in the remaining races this season and next year. We certainly respect the reason behind Honda’s decision to focus on environmental initiatives and to strive for the realization of carbon neutrality, everybody at Scuderia AlphaTauri wish them well in reaching all their goals and to have a successful future ahead. We sincerely want to thank Honda for the fruitful cooperation, we really enjoyed every day we’ve been working together. It won’t be easy to find an engine partner like Honda but, of course, we will start looking at all possibilities to find the best Power Unit solution from 2022 onwards.”
Redazione MotoriNoLimits
Honda to Conclude Participation in FIA Formula One World Championship.
— Honda Racing F1 (@HondaRacingF1) October 2, 2020
