Honda’s decision could be influenced by F1’s popularity

If Honda returns to Formula 1 in 2026 or later, then not just as an engine supplier – the Japanese company is not ruling out such a scenario, although they say nothing definite.

The decision to end the World Cup program was taken by Honda’s board of directors as the company’s priorities changed and all financial and human resources were devoted to developing new technologies that contribute to achieving carbon neutrality. Honda faces this strategic task and is expected to be completed by 2050.

At the same time, Formula 1 will switch to new-generation engines in 2026, more technologically advanced and cheaper to manufacture, and in general the championship is going through a period of important reforms, which, judging by the growth in ratings, are throwing all their bear fruit. The rules of the game are changing, participation in the World Cup is getting cheaper – that’s why companies like Porsche and Audi are entering Formula 1, for this they choose a different strategy.

The championship leadership still sees Honda as a potential candidate to become one of the suppliers of power plants built to the new engine regulations.

However, this does not seem to be enough for Honda. At the same time, the Japanese company is not yet ready to consider a possible return to Formula 1 with its own factory team, confirmed Koiji Watanabe, president of the racing division of Honda Racing Corporation.

In general, the history of Honda’s participation in the World Championship is a series of projects that started with the creation of a factory team in the 1960s, continued in the 1980s, when the Japanese returned to Formula 1 as mechanics, and then , at the end of the 2000s, its own team was again created (based on BAR), after which there was a return again – again as an engine supplier.

When The Race journalists reminded Watanabe of this cycle and hinted that it would now make sense to rethink creating his own team, he smiled and said, “If it comes to that, then maybe this is a new way.” to participate in the championship I don’t know which way it will go but this new way has to be found.

My personal opinion is that just being an engine supplier is not enough. I don’t know if it will be my own team or something else. But it’s too early to talk about it, and these issues are not being discussed.”

Currently, as part of agreements with Red Bull, Japanese motorists are still assembling and maintaining power plants for the Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri teams. These agreements are valid until the end of 2025, after which Red Bull Powertrains, the new engine building division of the Milton Keynes team, must reach design capacity.

However, Watanabe made it clear that Formula 1’s carbon neutral course is of interest to Honda management: “We are interested in the direction of F1 technology as we study different aspects of development. From this point of view, we are still following Formula 1’s activities if the championship really wants to achieve carbon neutrality.

Moreover, as the popularity of Formula 1 in the United States is constantly growing, this is also important for us. We have a fairly small company in Europe. And if Formula 1 plans to expand its presence in the US and Chinese markets, if it becomes more popular, it could be an important factor that will influence our decision.”

Red Bull and Honda are likely to renegotiate their powertrain branding agreements for the period 2023-2025 to get more attention for the Japanese brand.

“We do not regret leaving Formula 1 and we are proud of the current situation because the engines were developed by us,” said Watanabe. – We also help Red Bull to operate power plants. This engine is still our brainchild. Formally, we are no longer considered official suppliers, so we don’t care what these engines are called. But perhaps it could be stated more explicitly that they were originally made by Honda and are now handled by HRC (Honda Racing Corporation).”