Powerful Honda delegation at Red Bull Ring

A week ago at Silverstone, Christian Horner denied that Red Bull has held talks with Honda about the Japanese manufacturer’s potential official return to Formula 1.

But that could be all about to change.

Actually, the team’s home race in Austria was slated to be the scene of the official announcement of a Red Bull-Porsche engine tie-up for 2026 and beyond.

"All I know is that the VW Group will get involved once the regulations are in place and that’s not the case yet," Dr Helmut Marko said.

Indeed, the FIA announced after Friday’s meeting of the F1 Commission that the 2026 engine rules are now "close to finalisation".

"It’s realistic in the fall," Marko said.

In the meantime, rumours that Honda could be looking to ramp up its Formula 1 program to full official status look set to continue.

"There’s certainly been no discussion with ourselves about that," Red Bull team boss Horner said a week ago.

But specialist Japanese sources report that a high-powered Honda delegation is trackside at the Red Bull Ring this weekend.

It is headed by three figureheads, including Honda Motor Co. president and CEO Toshihiro Mibe and the Japanese carmaker’s chairman Seiji Kuraishi, and Honda Racing president Koji Watanabe.

One source insists that Honda is not looking to compete with Porsche for the 2026 deal, but instead to bring the Honda name back to Formula 1 for the period 2023-2025.