Honda says it has been contacted by multiple Formula One teams since signing up for the 2026 Formula One engine regulations but is not yet ready to confirm whether it will remain in the sport.
Honda’s current F1 commitment extends to the end of 2025 as Red Bull’s engine supplier, but it has also registered as a manufacturer under the next set of regulations, which will see the power units increase in electrical power and use fully sustainable fuels in 2026.
Uncertainty over Honda’s future in F1 led Red Bull to build its own power unit facility at its factory in Milton Keynes, which will start producing engines with the support of Ford from 2026 onwards.
However, Honda’s apparent u-turn from focusing purely on electric vehicles to entertaining the possibility of building another hybrid engine for F1 racing could see it pair up with a different team on the grid in 2026.
“Carbon neutrality is our corporate wide target at Honda so we think Formula One’s future direction is in line with our target, that’s why we decided to register as a PU,” Koji Watanabe, president of Honda Racing Corporation said. “We’re curious about where Formula One is going, Formula One being the top racing category, and how is that going to look with more electrification.
“We would like to keep a very close eye on that and that’s why we have decided to register as a PU manufacturer. After we made the registration we have been contacted by multiple F1 teams.
“For now we don’t have any concrete decisions on whether we’ll go back to be joining Formula One. Technological development, from the perspective, we think that knowing that being part of the Formula One is going to help us with the technological developments.”
Watanabe underlined Honda’s commitment to Red Bull until the end of the 2025 season and confirmed the majority of the production of the current power unit, which will now be called a Honda-RBPT, would continue to be carried out in Japan.
“From 2026 Red Bull and Ford will be partnering and in advance we received a notification, so Honda and Red Bull until 2025 will continue to have trust and great partnership and we aim to win the championship until 2025 so we have that unwavering policy on that.
“After 2026 and onward Red Bull would partner with Ford and we are not in a position to say anything about that. But in other races we have the partnership with Red Bull, so we continue to work together.
“For F1 2026 and onwards, there’s nothing specific that we can say about that, but we would like to be close to F1 and keep on watching the race, so I want you to continue to root for Honda.”
Source: www.espn.com