Honda’s Delaying F1 Engine as Long as Possible to Give Aston Winning Chance

Honda Racing Corporation is working at full tilt on its all-new Formula 1 engine, and it plans to continue doing so until the 2026 season commences. After divorcing from Red Bull Racing at the end of 2021 and marrying Aston Martin from 2026 onwards, Honda’s spent the last year or so re-organizing its workforce, setting up new shops, and making sure it has all the tools necessary to give Aston a winning chance against Red Bull, McLaren, and Ferrari come 2026.

In conversation with HRC F1 boss Tetsushi Kakuda, Autosport reports that Honda will push the development of its new package “until the very last moment,” adding that the automaker had a “slightly late start” but has since made good progress.

“We are aiming to submit the homologation in February next year—since we had a slightly late start, we want to push forward until the very last moment,” Kakuda told Autosport. “It’s difficult to say exactly what percentage of progress we have made, but I believe we have reached a considerable stage.”

“There are key timing points when both parties must finalize major components for homologation. We are coordinating with them [Aston], discussing when we each want to make our final decisions, and setting the schedule accordingly,” he added.

HRC President and CEO Koji Watanabe, whom we recently interviewed at the Rolex 24, was in Milton Keynes this week to oversee the re-opening of HRC’s new F1 facility. The campus was formerly inhabited by Red Bull, and before that, Honda. The U.K. team will work in tandem with HRC’s mothership in Sakura, Japan, but will benefit from being closer to Aston’s F1 HQ in Silverstone.

Besides working on the technical aspects of developing a new powertrain under new regulations, Kakuda has also had to focus on the human element, as many HRC engineers and staffers were lured to work full-time for Red Bull after they split in 2021.

With superstar designer Adrian Newey commencing his new role at Aston this week, it’ll be a crucial few months until a car design is finalized and overall dimensions are provided to Honda to make sure its package will be compatible. Likewise, it’ll be up to Aston to work alongside Honda during the design process to confirm a harmonious fit and avoid any last-minute surprises.

February 2026 may seem far away, but to Honda and Aston, it still represents a tight deadline given the monumental work that has to be completed. Furthermore, it’ll be interesting to see how this season’s developments affect Aston and Honda’s approach to aero, chassis, and powertrain design.

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