Credit: Twitter
Honda will remain in Formula One beyond 2025 and has announced that it will supply Aston Martin with F1 engines from 2026. The Japanese company is the current engine supplier of the world champions Red Bull, but that deal is going to come to an end in 2025 as Red Bull is going to manufacture its own engines in collaboration with Ford. The new partnership will transform the Silverstone-based Martin into Honda’s sole focus from its current position as one of four teams with Mercedes engines.
The recent performance of Honda with Red Bull has marked it as one of the top manufacturers of F1, but the company was earlier reluctant to commit beyond 2025, and it is why Red Bull decided to join hands with Ford for 2026. Speaking of Martin, he has an engine deal with Mercedes until the end of the current power unit regulation cycle in 2025 but will now join hands with Honda to become a works team in 2026.
The CEO of the Aston Martin group Martin Whitmarsh said, "Mercedes have been great partners and they remain that, but they are in it to win and clearly we are here to win as well. Ultimately, there is some incompatibility in those two missions and that's why we have taken the decision."
Former McLaren principal Whitmarsh further added, "The first and obvious example was we currently share a wind tunnel with them. We're having to spend a huge amount of money to build our own wind tunnel which is only 4 or 5 miles from the wind tunnel, a quite adequate one, that we use. The nature of F1 is, if you want to win, it means beating Mercedes and it's extremely difficult to beat an organisation as good as Mercedes if you're reliant on them for intellectual property, facilities, and components. Team Silverstone has a great tradition of delivering big bang for small bucks. But we're in a different position now. The Aston Martin brand, the ambition of Lawrence Stroll, and now great partners like Honda, we are here to win."
Honda references F1 engine resolutions for 2026, which will have sustainable fuels and a more powerful engine recovery system. Honda’s Global CEO Toshihiro Mibe said, "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, 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."
Speaking of F1 in 2026, there will be six engine manufacturers competing in 2026, Honda, Red Bull, Renault, Mercedes, Ferrari, and Audi. With Honda's confirmation to partner with Aston Martin in 2026, Haas (Ferrari-engined), McLaren (Mercedes), and Williams (Mercedes) are yet to confirm engine manufacturers for 2026.