Red Bull and Racing Bulls secure Honda deal for older F1 engine testing

Red Bull Racing and sister team Racing Bulls have finalized a new agreement with Honda to continue using the Japanese manufacturer's older power units for private testing over the next two seasons. The deal ensures both teams can conduct crucial 'Testing of Previous Cars' (TPC) sessions, a vital development tool, despite their switch to new power unit suppliers for the current championship campaigns.

Why it matters:

TPC sessions are a critical but often overlooked component of an F1 team's development cycle, allowing for tire testing, driver training, and system validation outside of the restrictive official test calendar. For Red Bull and Racing Bulls, who now run Ford-branded power units developed in-house by Red Bull Powertrains, this deal maintains access to a key resource. It prevents a potential two-year development gap where they could not test older chassis, ensuring continuity in their technical programs while they await the availability of their own older-spec Red Bull Ford engines for future TPCs.

The Details:

• The agreement covers the supply of Honda power units from previous seasons specifically for TPC sessions.
• TPC Rules: Formula 1 regulations permit unlimited testing with cars that are at least two seasons old, but teams must use the matching engine from that car's competitive era. For customer teams like Red Bull and Racing Bulls, who lease engines, those power units typically return to the manufacturer (Honda) at the end of a season.
• Negotiation Hurdle: Talks between the parties began in December 2024, with the financial terms being the primary point of discussion. As the owner of the hardware, Honda can set its own price for releasing the engines back to the teams for non-competitive testing purposes.
• Timeline: With the deal now sealed, both teams can schedule tests using 2024-spec or older cars throughout 2025 and 2026.
• Future Testing: It will not be until 2028 that Red Bull and Racing Bulls can perform a TPC using their own Red Bull Ford power units, which debuted in the 2026 season and will become 'previous' specification after the 2027 campaign.

What's next:

The finalized contract removes a logistical obstacle for Red Bull's testing schedule, allowing its drivers and engineers to continue extracting value from previous-generation cars. This is particularly valuable for refining correlation between simulation and real-world data. While the financial details remain confidential, the deal underscores the complex, ongoing relationships between teams and former suppliers in F1's ecosystem, even after official works partnerships have concluded.