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Honda Racing president Koji Watanabe has confirmed Honda's potential interest in building Formula 1 engines for 2026 and beyond.
While Honda officially withdrew from F1 after the 2021 season, citing its increased focus on the electrification of its road car industry, Honda continues to power the Red Bull and AlphaTauri as their power units are manufactured and shipped from Honda's base in Sakura, Japan.
With Honda is still, unofficially, supplying the two Red Bull teams, branding for 'HRC' (Honda Racing Corporation) was re-introduced on the RB18 late in the 2022 season after another season of success for the Japanese power units.
Due to the ongoing F1 engine freeze, with minimal development costs, the arrangement with Red Bull is set to run until the end of 2025. The new power unit regulations are scheduled to be introduced for the 2026 season.
The potential for continuing this relationship on a more formal basis remains in place, particularly following the breakdown in talks between Red Bull and Porsche regarding a works link-up for the new regulations.
Honda registered interest for 2026 power units regulations
The FIA requested a soft deadline in mid-November for manufacturers to register interest in the 2026 power unit regulations, and Honda has confirmed they have put their names down on this list.
However, this deadline is not a binding contract that ensures their participation. It merely serves as an expression of interest and gets Honda a seat at the table for discussions regarding the introduction of the new regulations.
"As HRC, we have registered as a PU manufacturer after 2026," confirmed Watanabe during Honda's 2023 Motor Sports Activity Plan Presentation, as quoted by the Japanese subsidiary of Motorsport.com.
"The F1 regulations from 2026 onwards are moving in the direction of carbon neutrality. In addition, the fact that electrification is also being promoted, and the carbon neutrality and electrification that Honda Motor Co., Ltd. is promoting, is the same. The targets match.
"As a racing company, we have registered as a manufacturer in order to advance research on racing.
"There is also the fact that 15 November was the deadline [for registration]. [We] have registered as a manufacturer in order to continue [this research]."
The decision to register means Honda still has time to figure out whether or not to commit to a step-up in its F1 activities for 2026 and beyond.
What about F1's other power unit manufacturers?
As for the other power unit manufacturers, Alpine's Laurent Rossi confirmed Renault was committing their interest for 2026 when he spoke to the media at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
"We had some points we wanted to discuss on the legal side, to make sure that we fully covered as much as possible, which we did," he said.
"We just kept on discussing those points as far as we could. And at some point, when we reach a level in discussions where we think we're all in a good position, we sign – or we're going to sign. I think it's imminent."
Christian Horner confirmed Red Bull Powertrains have signed up for 2026: "As a newcomer for 2026, Red Bull Powertrains has entered. It's an exciting moment for the group, for the company, a new challenge to take on, and a lot to do between now and 2026."
Toto Wolff similarly confirmed Mercedes had put pen to paper, while Aston Martin's Mike Krack refuted any possibility that his team may seek to become a power unit supplier in their own right.
"We have evaluated really, all the resources needed, our situation for the years to come, and we decided that we are very, very happy with our current supply of power units with our partner, and then decided not to follow up," the Aston Martin man said.
