Red Bull had a strong start to the 2021 F1 season at the Bahrain Grand Prix after Max Verstappen narrowly missed out on victory following an epic battle with the Mercedes of Sir Lewis Hamilton. Changes to the rules for this season appear to be part of the reason why the Red Bull looks even faster this year, but much praise has also been directed towards the new Honda powertrain which is the Japanese manufacturer’s last effort before leaving F1 at the end of 2021. Red Bull have had consistent issues with powertrain suppliers over the years, but now have come to an arrangement with Honda to take engine development in-house beyond 2022. And team principal Christian Horner told the Talking Bull podcast the move shows the scale of their investment in F1. "It's a big investment. It's a big commitment to the sport. There's risks associated with it, but there's potential reward and an upside to it. So it's the one part of the car that we've never really had under our complete control previously," Horner said. "Now we've got the opportunity to do that. And that's, that's really exciting. I think everybody in the business is really excited about the opportunities that presents." Horner also said the team will maintain its relationship with Honda to develop the powertrain after it formally leaves F1 at the end of this season, but that discussions remained ongoing over using the existing technology in the future. "We're looking to utilize their technology, obviously moving forward. And inevitably, transfer personnel from Honda into Red Bull Powertrains Ltd. So discussions are ongoing with Honda, about the exact detail of that," he said. "We have a framework of principle, a set of principles that we're working to, but it's now a matter of just sorting out the detail. It's really exciting. And we're very fortunate to have a partner like Honda, who've been tremendously accommodating and very, very supportive."
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