Although Honda ended its F1 activities at the end of the 2021 season, in response to Red Bull’s request, it had decided to continue support as a technical partner. Red Bull established a new company, Red Bull Powertrains (RBPT), to manufacture its own power units, and initially planned to manufacture Honda’s power units through technology transfer. Unable to solve problems such as production technology and parts procurement, Red Bull abandoned the idea of in-house manufacturing, and Honda would continue to manufacture and supply the power units for the 2022 season. The name “Honda,” however, was removed from the power unit, the RBPTH 001.

2022 was a time of major change for F1, and the regulations demanded changes in the cars. The biggest was the return of ground-effect cars, which generated downforce through the aero effect of the lower part of the chassis. At the same time, various changes, such as 18-inch wheels, larger-diameter tires, and E10 fuel with a higher ethanol content, were made to improve environmental-friendliness, promote overtaking, and enhance the thrill of racing, while bringing F1 into step with the times.

The RB18, which had undergone a major transformation under the new regulations, was a masterpiece of development spearheaded by Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey, and its highly refined aerodynamic design optimized downforce to give it a significant advantage over the other teams. The RB18’s aerodynamic superiority and relatively early success in reducing bouncing caused by the ground effects gave it a significant advantage, and produced favorable results.

The main feature of the RB18 was the large undercut of the side pontoons and the downwash design, in which the upper surface lowered towards the rear. This innovative solution was later adopted by almost all teams and became the standard.

Another feature was the use of pull-rods for the front suspension. This was intended to improve aerodynamic efficiency to the side pontoon undercuts, but the downside was that it complicated the design and structure, and only two teams, Red Bull and McLaren, used pull-rods in their new chassis. On the other hand, the rear suspension was changed from the pull-rod system that had been used for many years to a push-rod system in order to gain more freedom in diffuser design.

The RBPTH 001 was actually a power unit that could have been called the RA622H, an updated version based on the RA621H, which achieved a dramatic performance boost in 2021, with improvements that further increased its potential and made it compatible with E10 fuel. Development and manufacturing of the power unit was handled entirely by the new Honda Racing Corporation (HRC), reborn by consolidating Honda’s motorsports divisions. This meant delivery, on-site management, and other activities remained largely unchanged from the previous year.

The regulations froze power unit development to 2022 homologated specifications, and no modifications to improve performance were allowed until 2025. Although Honda decided to end its F1 activities, it continued to make improvements to the RA621H as it decided to continue its relationship with Red Bull, and developed a power unit, that could be seen as the final form of the current specifications, which was deployed at the start of the 2022 season.

During the season, Honda announced the extension of its partnership with Red Bull. HRC would continue to supply power units to Red Bull until the 2025 season, not 2022 as previously planned.

Despite the many problems and glitches that plagued the teams with the new cars, Red Bull continued to dominate throughout the season, thanks to the advantage of the RB18 and RBPTH 001 and the gaining of experience by Max Verstappen, who won his first championship in 2021. Verstappen won the championship for the second consecutive title with 17 wins. Teammate Sergio Perez also won twice, and with 19 wins out of 22 grands prix, Red Bull was crowned constructors’ champion for the first time since 2013, more than 200 points ahead of second-place Ferrari.