After leading Red Bull and Max Verstappen to triumph in the 2021 Drivers’ World Championship, Honda has officially said goodbye to Formula 1, while the Milton Keynes team has created its own powertrain division to manage the Japanese engines independently.
If in an initial phase of transition, Honda will continue to build engines from Japanese structures, most of the staff who worked on the 2021 power unit project have already been moved to other projects.
Masashi Yamamoto, Honda’s F1 manager, will also leave the Japanese house later this month to embrace the role of consultant for Red Bull and support the Anglo-Austrian team.
In an interview, Yamamoto explained that in his new role he will be a point of contact between Red Bull and Honda to ensure that the partnership between the two companies remains strong.
2021 driver champion Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st place, celebrates at Parc Ferme with his team, including Helmut Marko, consultant, Red Bull Racing and Masashi Yamamoto, general manager, Honda Motorsport
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
“We have created a new company and we want to create something that makes people happy. If we continue to win in Formula 1, the fans will be happy ”.
“I have signed a contract with Red Bull Powertrains. At the request of Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, my presence was asked to continue supporting them ”.
“This is a contract between two companies, so I can’t go into details, but I can confirm that as a member of Red Bull Powertrains I will work to help them.”
Yamamoto then explained how his main focus will be to liaise between Red Bull Powertrains and Honda to ensure that the development of the power units goes smoothly.
“For example, if they want to understand Japanese and Honda culture better, and have a closer relationship with the manufacturer, I will be able to support them. Basically it is a bridging role between Red Bull and Japan ”.
Yamamoto then admitted that he will be present at some races in his new role and explained that his decision to leave Honda came after the Japanese manufacturer’s departure from F1.
“I decided it in March of last year. I was appointed head of motorsport in 2016 and my first goal was to win the SUPER GT championship, which I achieved in 2018 ”.
“Over the next three years I have dedicated myself to F1 and from the very beginning I have always thought that this job would be the culmination of my experience with Honda. I think I have made all my experience available ”.
“I was wondering if we would be able to win with Red Bull in the first year and then find ourselves fighting with Mercedes the following year, but it didn’t happen that way. Only in the third year of collaboration, thanks to Verstappen’s driving skills and the great work of the team, have we managed to establish ourselves in the championship ”.
Statements collected by Ken Tanaka
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