Former Dutch F1 driver Jan Lammers believes that Honda's departure from the sport could benefit Red Bull who would gain from having more flexibility with their builds. The Red Bull Racing team were left in a state of flux when their engine partner Honda announced that they would be departing from the sport at the end of 2021. Having ended their partnership acrimoniously with Renault and with Ferrari and Mercedes not willing to supply a direct rival, the Milton Keynes based team had little option but to continue running the Japanese marque's engines under their own banner. Lammers believes this might work in the team's favour. "If Red Bull takes over the factory and the running costs, along with part of the workforce, then that is interesting for both parties," Lammers told RacingNews365. "Honda hardly incurs any costs and still keeps in touch with the developments in Formula 1." Lammers goes on to cite how the added flexibility of not having a large manufacturer as a partner might help Red Bull. "If you have the same skills and budgets, it is sometimes an advantage to be a private organization," he said. "After all, a manufacturer is often much less flexible. That is often a much more bulky device." The Dutch racing driver also highlights how a brand has various other conundrums that they must consider as a company. "As a manufacturer you also have to deal with a certain morality," he explained. "They also deal with sensitive themes such as sustainability, safety and the image of the company, the brand. "This means that they can often take risks far less when reliability is at stake. It is not without reason that Renault, which has also struggled with reliability, is now continuing as Alpine." Lammers finally compliments Honda on overcoming their reliability issues, especially in their formative years with McLaren. "If you can solve the problems after the reliability problems that Honda has had and manage to compete in the top five that's just quite an achievement. "
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