Formula 1 News: Tost hails Honda legacy as Red Bull era ends

(GMM) Franz Tost (pictured) has paid tribute to Honda as the Japanese manufacturer’s ultra-successful partnership with Red Bull races towards the finish line.

After powering Max Verstappen and Red Bull to multiple world championships, Honda will move to Aston Martin from 2026 while Red Bull develops its own power unit with Ford.

Tost, who retired as boss of Honda-powered Toro Rosso-Alpha Tauri at the end of 2023, told Servus TV he remembers the early skepticism from rivals.

“It was 2017, and there was an exhibition in London. We were already in talks with Honda. Then people from McLaren approached me and asked, ‘What do you want to achieve with them?'” the 69-year-old Austrian recalled.

“I told them, ‘Keep quiet, and we’ll talk again in five years.’ The fact is that those people were gone five years later, while Honda became a success in Formula 1.”

Before Red Bull, McLaren endured a disastrous spell with Honda power. But Tost said he was not surprised.

“It didn’t work because there was no cooperation or information sharing – McLaren kept everything to themselves,” he explained. “With us, the connection was immediate. 2018 was difficult, but in 2019 they won their first race. And the rest of the story with Red Bull is already known.”

Tost praised Honda as one of the finest motorsport companies in the world.

“Motorsport is part of the company’s very philosophy,” he said. “That comes from Honda’s founder – he wanted to use motorsports as a way to train engineers in a highly competitive environment before they returned to the factory. That philosophy still holds true today. And I must say it was a fantastic collaboration.”