AR3-GP wrote: ↑15 Dec 2022, 20:58
Liveries, sponsor placement, and so on is all negotiated in contracts before a season begins. It doesn't matter if you think Red Bull should put Honda logos on the car for free or if you think that the drivers and team should skip all the press events with their other sponsors in order to do Honda promotion for free. That's not how this works. These are for profit businesses. Red Bull didn't use the Honda name this season, because Honda didn't want them to. Do you recall that Honda pulled out?
I agree. As far as I know Red Bull Racing (and AlphaTauri) put the large signage on in 2021 as a goodwill gesture to make sure the ongoing supply could be secured.
Verstappen and Perez are still doing all the promotional duties for Honda -- the Civic Type R launch for example and the Honda thanks day too.
Honda asked for the HRC decal on the engine cover to be changed to a Honda one, and RBR and AlphaTauri obliged... I assume that arrangement will continue for 2023.
It would be nice if a Honda logo replaced the HRC decal on the nose of the two teams' cars, but I expect to be underwhelmed as with "Honda RBPT" announcement! It seems most likely it will continue in the same arrangement as during the late 2022 season, better to have Honda in F1 winning races (fingers crossed) in a low-key capacity than not at all.
If Honda decide they want to buy more advertising space on RBR and AT at some point, they will make that decision. RBR are old school garagistes, they will stick a logo on for anyone who pays the monies (hence the Pokerstars decal that appears and disappears depending on the round, likewise Jumbo that only appears at the Dutch GP).