Honda started negotiations with several teams

The partnership between Honda and Red Bull will end after 2025, but the Japanese company intends to remain in Formula 1 as a power plant supplier and a number of teams are already showing interest in its new generation of engines, which will be launched by 2026.

The company officially ended its World Cup program at the end of 2021, but continues to assemble and supply power units for Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri, although this work is now done by fewer specialists.

But when the new engine regulations were approved, which will come into force in 2026, Honda submitted an application to the FIA, effectively declaring its intention to return to the championship, although the company is not yet legally bound at this stage entered into and negotiations with the federation and Formula 1 continue.

“After signing up as suppliers, we were approached by several Formula 1 teams,” Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) president Koiji Watanabe said at a press conference. – But for now we would like to follow the way things are going in Formula 1 and understand where it is going.

We have not yet made any concrete decisions on whether or not to return to Formula 1. However, we believe that participation in the championship will help us in terms of technological development. Now it looks like this.”

According to Watanabe, the technical regulations for 2026 are in line with Honda’s goals, as the Japanese company, like Formula 1, is aiming for carbon neutrality in the future.

“Carbon neutrality is Honda’s corporate goal. Therefore, we believe that the promising development direction of Formula 1 is in line with our goals, he confirmed. – That is why we decided to register as a manufacturer of power plants. We are curious to see where the championship will go as it is the top category of racing and what it will look like with electric technology playing a bigger role. We would like to follow this whole process.”

As Honda’s Formula 1 division has been downsized, the Japanese company’s executives were asked if they wanted to add additional resources to the 2026-focused programme.

“We have redeployed resources, but there are quite a few people working on the Red Bull propulsion system at our center in Sakura,” said Tetsushi Kakuda, chief engineer at HRC. “At the same time, we understand that now we don’t have to deal with any kind of engine modernization every year. But if it is necessary to solve this or that technical problem, our team of engineers will solve it.”

According to The Race, McLaren and Williams, who currently use Mercedes power plants, have expressed tentative interest in resuming their partnership with Honda this winter. The Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri teams should receive a new generation of engines in 2026, which will be produced by Red Bull Powertrains in collaboration with the American company Ford.