In February 2021, Red Bull Advanced Technologies signed an exclusive distribution agreement for Formula One engines with Honda to start in the
2022 season, after the Japanese automaker left Formula One at the end of the
2021 season. The engines were to be purchased from Honda and renamed Red Bull Powertrains units, and supplied to its two teams currently competing in Formula One,
Red Bull Racing and
AlphaTauri, starting in 2022. Honda continued to support the Red Bull-owned teams between 2022 until the end of 2025, assembling the power units and providing trackside and race operation support. The power units remained Honda's intellectual property, and due to the F1 engine development freeze in place since September 2022, Red Bull Powertrains did not develop them. On 23 April 2021 Red Bull Powertrains announced the hiring of
Ben Hodgkinson as technical director. Hodgkinson had been head of mechanical engineering at
Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains since 2017, and had worked at the Brixworth factory for 20 years. On 6 May 2021, Red Bull Racing announced the hiring of five more senior Mercedes engine employees: Steve Blewett (who will be the production director of the Red Bull power unit), Omid Mostaghimi (chief engine, electronics and energy recovery), Pip Clode (head of mechanical design for energy recovery), Anton Mayo (head of combustion power unit design) and Steve Brodie (leader of combustion engine operations). On 2 October 2022, Honda announced an agreement for the "re-strengthening" of their partnership with Red Bull Racing and will maintain total oversight of the engines until 2025.
Honda's logo will also reappear on Red Bull Racing's and AlphaTauri's car from the
2022 Japanese Grand Prix onwards. On 4 February 2023, Red Bull Racing and
Ford Motor Company announced a strategic partnership that will see Ford return to Formula One in following new engine regulations. Ford will provide "expertise in areas including battery cell and electric motor technology as well as power unit control software and analytics" and "combustion engine development," and the company will be renamed to Red Bull Ford Powertrains.
Re-badged Honda power units (2022–2025) RBPTH001 The RBPTH001 was, despite its name, developed, produced, and maintained by Honda. It was a derivative of the Honda RA621H, with different ignition timing, cylinder pressure, and MGU-H to account for the new E10 fuels. The crankshaft and cylinder block geometry were also modified to ensure reliability when running on E10 fuels, and a specialised coating developed by Honda's motorcycle division was applied to the walls of the cylinders. The injection system, exhaust, and the turbocharger's compressor and turbine were all optimised for E10 fuel. The changes meant that the RBPTH001 weighed more than the RA621H, but the dimensions of the engines are virtually identical save for the exhaust and intake layout and the electrical components. The new engine could also run at noticeably higher temperatures compared to the RA621H. Despite the reduced energy density of the 2022 fuels, the RBPTH001 had greater
thermal efficiency than its predecessor.
DM01 Red Bull Ford launched the DM01 on 15 January 2026. The power unit was named after the late
Red Bull GmbH founder
Dietrich Mateschitz. Prior to his death in 2022, Mateschitz was heavily involved in setting up RBPT. == Formula One engine results ==