Honda, after selling its Formula 1 power train business to Red Bull Racing, has decided to remain in F1 after all following the 2025 season.
The manufacturer is partnering up with Aston Martin F1.
Honda currently retains a technical and commercial partnership with Red Bull, which will remain until the previously announced Ford-Red Bull partnership goes into effect in the 2026 season.
Aston Martin currently fields Mercedes power units, a partnership that began in 2009 with the team’s previous incarnation Force India. The Force India-Racing Point-Aston Martin team has fielded Mercedes engines longer than any team in the current field, including Mercedes’ own works team.
“I would like to welcome Honda and Honda Racing Corporation to the Aston Martin [F1] Team,” Lawrence Stroll, the executive chairman of AMF1, said. “We share a mutual drive, determination, and relentless ambition to succeed on track.
“Honda is a global titan, and its success in motorsport is longstanding and incredibly impressive. I would like to thank [Global CEO of Honda Toshiro] Mibe and Mr. Watanabe, and the whole team at HRC as we embark on this exciting future together from 2026.”
Honda had previously decided to leave F1 following the 2021 season, with their engines being taken officially in-house as Red Bull Power Trains. However, Honda changed its mind partially on moving away from F1 to stay on as a sponsor of Red Bull and has maintained a publicly unknown amount of technical support with the team.
“One of the key reasons for our decision to take up the new challenge in F1 is that the world’s pinnacle form of racing is striving to become a sustainable racing series,” Mibe said. “Which is in line with the direction Honda is aiming toward carbon neutrality, and it will become a platform which will facilitate the development of our electrification technologies.
“Honda is a company that has a history of growing by taking on challenges and winning world-class races. With the new 2026 regulations, the key for winning will be a compact, lightweight and high-power electric motor with a high-performance battery capable of handling high and swift power output, as well as the energy management technology.”
Aston Martin is currently second in 2023 F1 constructor standings, and lead driver Fernando Alonso ranks third in driver points.
About the author
Michael has watched NASCAR for 20 years and regularly covered the sport from 2013-2021, and also formerly covered the SRX series from 2021-2023. He now covers the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and road course events in the NASCAR Cup Series.
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