Honda to return to Formula One racing in 2026 with Aston Martin
inset: Four executives pose for a photograph during a news conference on their motor sports activities in Tokyo on May 24. From left: Honda Motor CEO Toshihiro Mibe, Honda Racing Corp. President Koji Watanabe, Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team Chairman Lawrence Stroll and Aston Martin Performance Technologies group CEO Martin Whitmarsh. © Reuters
SHIZUKA TANABE, Nikkei staff writerMay 24, 2023 12:00 JSTUpdated on May 24, 2023
TOKYO -- Honda Motor will return to the world of Formula One racing in 2026, the Japanese automaker announced on Wednesday. It will supply engines and other power units for the F1 team of the U.K.'s Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings.
Honda stopped developing F1 engines in 2021 and withdrew from the market. But now F1 plans new standards, such as the introduction of sustainable fuels, which Honda has judged could be used for research and development toward decarbonization.
Honda first entered the F1 field in 1964 at the order of its founder, Soichiro Honda. After withdrawing in 1968, it entered again in 1983, and later twice again withdrew and reentered. 2026 will mark the fifth time the company has participated.
"The technology and expertise gained from F1 has the potential to directly affect the competitiveness of mass-produced electric vehicles in the future," said Honda President Toshihiro Mibe on Wednesday. "It will be a platform to promote our electrification technology."
Honda had supplied power units to two F1 teams, including Oracle Red Bull Racing, but it announced in 2020 that it would withdraw from F1 after the 2021 season. The burden of development costs for F1, which are estimated to be tens of millions of dollars per year, is heavy. The aim was to concentrate management resources that had been allocated to engine development into research and development for next-generation vehicles such as electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles.
However, the company has indicated that it will continue to provide technical support to the two teams through the 2025 season, and has continued to be involved in F1. Honda's racing subsidiary, Honda Racing Corp. (HRC), registered with the International Automobile Federation in November 2022 as a manufacturer of power units for the 2026 season and beyond. Registering as a manufacturer is mandatory to supply power units, and attention was focused on whether Honda would reenter F1.
The change in F1 regulations is believed to be behind the change in company policy after only about two and a half years. The new regulations, which will apply from the 2026 season, will require the use of sustainable fuels and an increase in electric power's share of total power use.
"As the trend toward electrification and other decarbonization trends continues in F1, we would like to contribute to decarbonization technology through motor sports as well," said HRC President Koji Watanabe on Wednesday. Honda believes that its technological forte in F1 -- working on decarbonization -- could be used in the research and development of electrified products and electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOL), dubbed "flying cars."
One after another, the world's major auto companies are utilizing the F1 stage for the development of next-generation vehicles. Red Bull has decided to work with Ford Motor of the U.S. starting in 2026. Audi, a member of Germany's Volkswagen Group, also announced that it will develop a power unit for F1. General Motors of the U.S. has announced that its Cadillac umbrella brand is seeking to enter F1.
source: https://asia.nikkei.com/