Red Bull set for iconic F1 return at Japanese Grand Prix

Red Bull Racing, Turkey GP, 2021, RB16B — Photo: © IMAGO

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Red Bull set for iconic return at Japanese Grand Prix

Red Bull F1 team are believed to be returning to an old fan favourite look in Suzuka

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Sunday 30 March 2025 12:06

Red Bull Formula 1 team are reportedly making a return to an iconic fan-favourite feature for next weekend's Japanese Grand Prix in a tribute to their engine partner, Honda.

Christian Horner's outfit have been using Honda power units since the exclusive partnership with the Japanese motorsport giant began in 2019.

As the team ramps up preparations for Honda's home race in Suzuka next time out, Red Bull have made another major change revolving around the third round of the 2025 season.

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Following a disappointing start to their 2025 campaign, Red Bull finds themselves in third place in the constructors' standings behind frontrunners McLaren and the current second-best outfit, Mercedes.

Will Red Bull run a white livery at the Japanese GP?

Red Bull's star driver and four-time champion Max Verstappen has struggled to extract performance out of the RB21 so far this year with the car gaining a reputation of being infamously hard to drive.

Former junior star Liam Lawson proved just that after failing to pick up any points for Horner's outfit in the first two rounds of the campaign, worrying Red Bull so much that they have opted to demote him back to Racing Bulls from the Japanese GP onwards, instead promoting Yuki Tsunoda to race alongside the Dutchman at the main team.

As the six-time constructors' champions hope that their recruitment of the Japanese star will boost their chances of returning to the top of the timesheets, rumours of a return to an iconic livery have surfaced.

The all-white Red Bull was a livery that previously ran at the 2021 Turkish GP in tribute of the Japanese event which had been cancelled the year before.

Junior team Racing Bulls have adopted a mostly white livery for their 2025 machinery but as the main team enter into their last home race with Honda as their engine partner, now would be the best time to return to the look in celebration of the relationship.

The 2025 grand prix at Suzuka will be Red Bull's last in association with Honda before they make a full return to the sport as an engine supplier for Aston Martin from 2026 onwards.

Following rumours of the look's comeback, Red Bull F1 team changed their official social media account profile pictures white and red, adding the team name in Japanese to the profiles as well.

Star driver Verstappen also followed suit by revealing that he will don a white and red helmet in Suzuka next weekend featuring Japanese writing.

GPFans contacted Red Bull for comment on the reports and whilst the team neither confirmed nor denied the rumours, a spokesperson stated: "That sounds amazing and would be so cool."

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