Honda to return to F1 in 2026 as engine manufacturer for Aston Martin

Honda are to return to Formula One as the works engine manufacturer for the Aston Martin team in 2026. The partnership represents a hugely significant step in the team’s aim, made in 2021, of competing for championships within five years. The move is also a major U-turn for Honda who only pulled out of F1 at the end of 2021 just as the company delivered what was considered to be the best engine on the grid.

The partnership, which was announced on Wednesday, will be exclusive to Aston Martin who are currently supplied with customer engines by Mercedes, from whom they also source their gearbox and suspension.

Aston Martin’s group CEO, Martin Whitmarsh, who was McLaren team principal between 2008 and 2014, emphasised why they needed the manufacturer deal with Honda. “It is very, very difficult to consistently win championships without a full works relationship which is why we have made this decision,” he said.

Whitmarsh believed that the ability to compete at the front required a works engine manufacturer, and with that the team bringing all parts for manufacture in-house at their brand new factory and wind tunnel facility in Silverstone, which will become fully operational this year.

“Its a big challenge,” he said. “This is about the growing up of this team. You set out to win in F1, that means beating existing partners and in order to do that we have got to be independent.

“The nature of F1 is if you want to win it means beating Mercedes and it is extremely difficult to beat an organisation as good as Mercedes if you are reliant on them for intellectual property, facilities and components. We are here to win and therefore you have to have the complete integration of facilities, process and approach.”

Aston Martin are