Quartararo forced to leave Monster as Red Bull returns to Honda

Honda and Red Bull have agreed for the energy drinks brand to return as sponsor of its official MotoGP team from next year, a move that will force Fabio Quartararo to end his long-standing association with Monster.

The market ahead of next season has not only been shaken up in terms of riders, but also in the sponsorship arena, with some predictable moves and others that are far more surprising.

While Monster is yet to decide whether to scale back its presence at Yamaha or disappear completely from the fairings of the factory M1s, another less predictable deal will come into effect next season: Red Bull will return as a sponsor of Honda's factory team in the premier class, as Autosport's sister title GPone revealed last Saturday.

At the same time, Autosport has learned that the energy drinks brand's return to HRC will have a particularly striking consequence: Quartararo, who has been chosen to become the Japanese manufacturer's flagship rider from that point onwards, will be forced to leave Monster, Red Bull's direct rival, with which he has maintained a close relationship since making his MotoGP debut in 2019. From January onwards, the Frenchman will join Red Bull's roster of athletes.

In fact, Autosport understands that Honda has had to cover the compensation stipulated in Quartararo's contract with Monster, which extended beyond 2026. The expectation is that Quartararo will wear the red-and-blue bull logo for the first time on his new prototype during the test in Valencia on the Tuesday following the end of the 2026 championship.

Red Bull's return to Honda will become visible four years after the drinks company decided to stop advertising with HRC, invoking a clause in its agreement with the Japanese manufacturer that allowed it to terminate the partnership should Marc Marquez leave Honda.

At the end of 2023, the multiple world champion reached an agreement with Honda to waive the final year, 2024, of the four-year deal he had signed, and joined Gresini, in the first step of a journey that would lead him to win the MotoGP title on a Ducati in 2025.

More prominent presence on the bike

Red Bull branding on a previous version of the RC213V

Photo by: Repsol Media

Marquez flew from Honda and, with him, so did Red Bull. Now, in an unexpected U-turn, the energy drinks giant will reverse that course in 2027. Autosport understands that the company's logo will be considerably more prominent than during its previous spell with HRC, when it essentially appeared on the lower part of the fairing and on the front mudguard.

Red Bull and Monster have been battling for the exposure offered by MotoGP for some time. Monster currently serves as title sponsor of the official Yamaha and Aprilia teams, while also having a significant presence at Ducati. Red Bull, meanwhile, remains involved only with KTM.

There are, however, plenty of signs that the balance of power could soon shift if the renewed relationship between Honda and Red Bull is taken into account for 2027.

Even more so given that Ducati's deal with Monster expires at the end of next season and that, in 2027, the factory team's rider line-up will consist of Marquez and Pedro Acosta, two figures whose careers are closely associated with Red Bull.