Red Bull could be running a special livery this weekend, paying tribute to Honda, for what was originally scheduled to be the Japanese Grand Prix. This weekend marks the previously scheduled date of the 2021 Japanese Grand Prix, with the 2020 event cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the 2021 event was also cancelled following a decision by Japanese authorities during the summer, meaning that Honda haven't been able to race in front of their home crowd since 2019. Heading to Turkey instead this weekend, there are plenty of hints that Red Bull are set to use a special livery paying tribute to Honda, as the Japanese manufacturer bows out of the sport officially at the end of 2021. "On the original calendar, this weekend should have seen us racing in the Japanese Grand Prix and it’s a real shame we cannot do so, because of concerns over the pandemic," said Honda's Toyoharu Tanabe in their official preview of this weekend's action. "Everyone at Honda was very much looking forward to racing competitively at our home track, with our Japanese driver Yuki in his F1 debut season, which is also our last one in the sport. "We know the Japanese fans are also disappointed and so we have prepared various on-line events specifically for them, as well as something special at the Istanbul track. "We are keen to get a good result with all four drivers across both teams in Turkey and we have been working hard and studying last year’s data to be as well prepared as possible." Honda initially raced with a white livery when they first entered Formula 1 as a manufacturer during the 1960s. Red Bull also released a teaser video on their social media channels, although there's yet to be confirmation of when the livery might break cover. Red Bull are no strangers to running famous one-off liveries , such as the 'CamoBull' (pictured above), which was used in pre-season testing in 2015, as well as special pre-season one-off liveries for the RB14 and RB15. However, it's quite a while since a special livery was used on-track during a Grand Prix weekend, with a 'Wings for Life' livery on Sebastian Vettel's car at the 2012 British Grand Prix marking the most recent occasion.
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👀🔜 pic.twitter.com/WaMGd4vJXY — Red Bull Racing Honda (@redbullracing) October 5, 2021
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