Honda had announced that it would cease its F1 activities after the 2021 season. It would, however, develop and manufacture power units (PUs) for Red Bull and AlphaTauri (now Racing Bulls) for 2022. The Red Bull Group would establish Red Bull Powertrains (RBPT), an engine development division, to take over the subsequent development and manufacturing.

F1 homologated the PUs to be used in 2022 prior to the start of the season, and froze the specifications until the end of the 2025 season. The purpose was for teams to reduce costs, instead using this period for research and development of the new 2026 PUs. There were, however, exemptions that allowed changes to reliability-related parts.

Honda was no longer involved in F1 racing in 2022, but it would conduct all development for the PUs for that year, to be handed over to Red Bull. It was generally believed that since the new RA621H won the championship in 2021, the same specifications would be used in 2022, but in fact, this was not the case. E10 fuel (the amount of ethanol contained rose from 7.5 to 10 percent) regulations came into effect, and “a completely different PU” (Satoshi Tsunoda LPL) was needed.

The use of E10 fuel reduces energy by about 4 percent. In addition, the fuel is less likely to auto-ignite, and less likely to cause abnormal combustion (knocking), which in turn makes it possible to bring forward ignition timing to increase power output. However, the pressure inside the cylinders increases significantly, causing major durability and reliability issues, which makes PU development a difficult and diverse process. Honda had overcome the decrease in power due to E10 fuel, completely reviewed its engine design for reliability, and developed a PU that was highly-compatible with regulations in 2022 and beyond.

In 2022, as the world recovered from COVID-19, Honda’s motorsports structure also underwent major changes in preparation for the new era of F1 that would begin in 2026. Honda R&D’s HRD Sakura and Honda’s Motorsports Division were merged into Honda Racing Corporation (HRC), which had previously focused on motorcycle motorsports activities. It became Honda’s comprehensive subsidiary for both motorcycle and automobile motorsports. Naturally, HRC was also responsible for the technical collaboration with RBPT.

The original plan was for RBPT to take the lead in PU manufacturing and after-sales following a quick and smooth transition, but in reality, this was more difficult than expected, and both RBPT and Honda reached the conclusion that it was impractical. Instead, Honda would manufacture and maintain, and provide onsite operational support for the current-spec PUs to be used until the 2025 season ends. The contract was between RBPT and HRC, and Honda was not be registered as a manufacture, so the Honda name was completely removed from F1 at this time.

In the 2022 season, Max Verstappen won 15 of the 22 rounds to claim his second consecutive title. Red Bull also dominated the constructors’ championship with 17 wins, claiming the constructors’ title for the first time since 2013. It was a long-awaited double victory.

Although its name did not officially appear, Honda had contributed to Red Bull winning both the drivers’ and constructors’ titles. The RBPTH001 was the culmination of Honda’s fourth F1 era.