REPORT: Honda Regrets F1 Exit After Red Bull’s Massive Recruitment Drive of 45 Mercedes Employees

Honda are weeks away from bidding their goodbye to Formula 1 amidst the dramatic withdrawal announcement late in 2020. And it almost looked like Red Bull could suffer a hefty blow by this decision, considering the Milton Keynes outfit’s dependency on the Japanese manufacturers.

However, that wasn’t the case in reality. Instead, Mercedes have found themselves on the receiving end. Of course, the primary factor being Honda’s desperate final push to clinch a world championship trophy by delivering an extremely powerful engine to Red Bull.

But, that’s not it. Mercedes’ factory, too, have suffered a massive blow, with employees walking out of the team to join the rival’s power train sector. Initially, it looked like tens of Mercedes employees may have joined Red Bull, but, the real number is looking even more worrisome for the Brackley outfit.

Red Bull Racing’s total recruitment number revealed!

According to Auto-Motor-Und-Sport, Red Bull managed to rope in 170 employees for their new venture in the engine department. It very blatantly shows Red Bull’s massive recruitment drive in recent months.

Most of these employees will be working around the development and construction of the new power unit whose design belongs to Honda.

Formula One F1 – Brazilian Grand Prix – Jose Carlos Pace Circuit, Sao Paulo, Brazil – November 13, 2021 Red Bull’s Max Verstappen ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez at the start of sprint qualifying REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

Interestingly, 45 out of the 170 employees had been serving under the governance of Mercedes. And Red Bull has a positive outlook on this transition. They feel that such a huge number of workers walking out of Mercedes clearly portray the defending champion’s downfall in the past year.

Honda regretting the F1 decision?

When Honda announced their withdrawal from F1, the statement looked firm enough and there were hardly any regrets in the faces of the executives of the Japanese company. But, little did we know that the future could diverge their mindsets.

Yes, apparently, Honda are already regretting their decision to bow out of Formula 1. Why you might ask? Well, it’s quite simple. The very reason why Honda wanted out of F1 was the cost of competing in the sport.

Oct 24, 2021; Austin, TX, USA; Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport driver Lewis Hamilton (44) of Team Great Britain leads Red Bull Racing Honda driver Max Verstappen (33) of Team Netherlands at the start of the United States Grand Prix Race at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

It was expensive then. But, ever since the induction of budget cap and test-bench restrictions, the cost of the sport has spiralled down to never-seen-before numbers. Hence, the fact that F1 is no longer a money-killing machine, Honda’s reason is nullified.

So, all Honda could do from here is to non-publicly work with Red Bull through the next set of years until the arrival of the game-changing 2025 season. But, will Honda return to F1 then?

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