Red Bull Racing will sport a one-off white livery for the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix as they pay homage to Honda, their former engine providers.
The design is a departure from the template on which the team has relied since their founding in 2005: a navy blue base with a Red Bull logo, a charging bull on a yellow background, adorning the airbox and front wing.
This weekend is different, though. The blue base layer makes way for a glossy white, while all decorations - the Red Bull logo, numbers, and sponsor decals - are now a striking metallic red.
The move is a nod to their partnership with Honda Racing, who have manufactured the team’s engines since 2019. That partnership will end this seaosn, though, as Honda will partner with Aston Martin for 2026, with Red Bull launching their own in-house engine manufacturer as a replacement.
Suzuka is the home race of both Honda and newly promoted driver Yuki Tsunoda. Both Tsunoda and his teammate, four-time World Champion Max Verstappen, have recognized the occasion with one-off helmets in the same colour scheme.
Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner said: “Our relationship with Honda deserves celebration, it has been one of continued success and brought the Team one of the most triumphant and dominant periods in our history.
“This livery is a tribute to Honda's success in the sport and the final year of what has been a thoroughly enjoyable partnership. I am looking forward to seeing it out on track."
Verstappen was powered to each of his four World Driver’s Championship titles by Honda horsepower, but the auto giants have a rich motorsport history which goes far beyond engine construction.
They were the first Japanese manufacturer to win a race in Formula One, doing so with American driver Richie Ginther behind the wheel of the RA272, whose simple white-and-red livery bears a striking resemblance to that which Red Bull will sport this weekend.
Among the drivers to have sat behind the wheel of a Honda F1 car are Jenson Button, John Surtees, and Rubens Barrichello, who boast 41 career race wins and four World Championships between them. Legendary drivers Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet, and Alain Prost all won championships thanks to Honda engines.
Red Bull will not be the only team on the grid donning a smart new livery for the race, as Haas have decorated Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman’s VF-25 with sakura cherry blossoms in a nod to Tokyo-born Team Principal Ayao Komatsu.
