"Unfortunate how all of that turned out": Max Verstappen on Honda leaving Red Bull for Aston Martin

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen feels it's a bit unfortunate that the partnership with Honda has to end as the Japanese brand will now partner with Aston Martin.

The Red Bull-Honda partnership began in 2019 and peaked in 2021 when Max won the driver's championship. There was a caveat, though, as Honda had announced its departure from the sport at the end of 2021. Midway through 2022 however, the brand changed its mind and Max Verstappen will use the Honda power units until the end of the 2025 F1 season.

However, with Honda announcing its departure from the sport, Red Bull was pushed into starting its own powertrain program.

Honda made an official return to the sport last season and showed interest in continuing beyond 2025. However, talks between Red Bull and the Japanese brand collapsed and the Austrian team went with Ford as the most logical option.

Talking about Honda's departure, Max Verstappen admitted that the whole sequence of events was quite unfortunate. He said:

“From our side, of course, it’s a bit unfortunate how all of that turned out unfortunate how all of that turned out. Because, a few years ago, they said they were going to stop."

He added:

"So then Red Bull sets up its own engine division, and then, at one point, they said ‘No, we continue’. Unfortunately, once you’re already in the process of building a whole engine yourself, you can’t really work together anymore. Yeah, it’s a bit of a shame, I would say.

Speaking about Red Bull's and his own relationship with Honda, Verstappen said:

“We always have and had a really good relationship with them. Seeing them go to Aston Martin, it’s a bit of a shame. I loved working with them. We’ve had a lot of success already."

He added:

"So, of course, I will be sad to see them go but we already expected that because they said they were going to pull out. So we already had a kind of goodbye. Of course, I’m happy for the 100 people that they stay in Formula 1, but sad to see them go.”

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Max Verstappen excited by the Red Bull powertrain program

Max Verstappen shared excitement about the new Red Bull power trains project that would also involve Ford as a critical member. He said:

“But I mean we are also very excited from our side, from 2026 onwards, what’s going to happen together with Ford. It is what it is. A few years ago, we thought they were going to leave and, nowadays, they’ve stayed and are going with Aston Martin. For Aston Martin, it’s really good. I mean, they have a great engine. We all know that. So it’s what it is.”

Max Verstappen will be hoping to convert the three remaining years with Honda to be as successful as possible as he continues on his record-breaking run.