Acura brand returns to F1 with Red Bull and AlphaTauri at US GP

Listen to this article

Acura held a regular presence in F1 at its North American races through the 1980s and 1990s, and last featured at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix on the visors of Honda’s works drivers.

Honda’s North American high-performance brand will return to the F1 grid this weekend after both Red Bull and AlphaTauri revealed details of the sponsorship that will be carried at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.

Both teams will feature Acura branding on the rear wings of their cars, replacing the regular Honda logos, while it will also be profiled on the visors and race suits of Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez, Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda.

“As Honda’s high-performance marque in North America it seems only right and proper that Acura should be present at the pinnacle of motorsport: Formula 1,” said Red Bull F1 boss Christian Horner. “We are delighted to welcome them back for this year’s United States Grand Prix. I remember Alain Prost winning the US Grand Prix in 1989 with Acura on his visor, so hopefully having the brand with us this weekend at the Circuit of the Americas will bring us the same result.”

Red Bull Racing RB16B with Acura sponsor

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

This weekend will mark Red Bull and AlphaTauri’s final United States Grand Prix racing with Honda power units ahead of the Japanese manufacturer’s exit from F1 at the end of the year. Verstappen finds himself leading the F1 drivers’ championship by six points and is going in search of a maiden victory in Austin.

“It’s very special to have Acura become part of our partnership with Red Bull Racing Honda and Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda for the United States Grand Prix 2021,” said Masashi Yamamoto, Honda F1’s managing director. “This has been an incredible F1 season so far and we are proud to add the Acura brand to our story for this iconic F1 race in America.”

“I’ve been a huge Formula 1 fan my whole life, and as a kid growing up in Canada I remember when Acura appeared on the helmets of Senna and Prost at the Canadian Grand Prix,” added Emile Korkor, assistant vice-president of Acura National Sales.

“Motorsports competition is extremely important for a performance brand like Acura and we couldn’t be more excited about the partnership with Red Bull Racing Honda and Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda for this race.”

Acura’s primary racing presence in the United States comes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, where it has two Acura ARX-05 cars in the DPi class ran by Wayne Taylor Racing and Meyer Shank Racing.