Honda QUITS Formula 1 to focus on carbon neutrality leaving Red Bull and AlphaTauri without engines next year

HONDA have announced that they are set to QUIT Formula One in 2021.

The Japanese powerhouse, which was first featured in F1 in 1964, will be leaving Red Bull and AlphaTauri without engines next year.

Honda, which last quit back in 2008 only to return in 2015, revealed it’s plan to focus on carbon neutrality.

In a statement Honda said: “Honda needs to funnel its corporate resources in research and development into the areas of future power unit and energy technologies, including fuel cell vehicle (FCV) and battery EV (BEV) technologies, which will be the core of carbon-free technologies.”

Honda had returned to F1 with McLaren but endured several years of frustration and the partnership was terminated in 2017.

It then switched to Toro Rosso before teaming up with Red Bull Racing last year.

Despite initial success with a podium finish at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, before victories in Austria, Germany and Brazil, the pair failed to deilver the title-challenging success that it hoped for.

That ambition, plus mounting concerns about the costs of an F1 project, meant Honda’s future in F1 was never assured for the long term.

Last year, the company considered pulling out following the end of its original deal only to extend its stay for a single season.

Red Bull said: “We would like to thank them for their exceptional efforts as a power unit supplier and look forward to continued success for the remainder of 2020 and 2021.”