Honda says it is considering a formal return to Formula 1 to coincide with the new engine regulations that will be introduced in 2026.
The company officially pulled out of F1 at the end of 2021, although its engines are still used by the two Red Bull teams and will be called Hondas again in 2023.
“For the time being, we would like to keep a close eye on where F1 is going and just see how things go,” Honda president Koji Watanabe said.
“We don’t have any concrete decisions on whether we will be going back.”
The new F1 engine regulations will see the sport continue with 1.6-litre turbo hybrid engines, but with a change in architecture to simplify the technology. There will be a significant increase in the proportion of power provided by electricity, and the use of carbon-neutral synthetic fuels.
Honda has not yet formally committed to entering F1 from 2026 but Watanabe said the new rules were appealing as they aligned with Honda’s corporate strategy.
Speaking at an official Honda news conference on Monday, Watanabe said: “Formula 1 is greatly shifting towards electrification. Given that, carbon neutrality is our corporate-wide target at Honda so we think F1’s future direction is in line with our target. That is why we have decided to register as a manufacturer of a power-unit.
“We are curious about where F1 is going and how is that going to look with more electrification happening.
“We would like to keep a very close eye on that and that is why we have decided to register as a PU manufacturer. And after we made the registration, we have been contacted by multiple F1 teams.”
The outline of the 2026 engine regulations was finalised in August last year, but they remain a work in progress as details continue to be ironed out.
McLaren are among the teams said to have contacted Honda about a supply in 2026, but the Japanese company would likely be of interest to many teams given that they have won the world title for the last two years with Red Bull.
Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, Alpine and Audi are all committed to their own engine projects, but the Aston Martin, Haas, McLaren and Williams teams are all yet to sign up to power-unit partners from 2026.
Honda’s decision to officially withdraw from F1 at the end of 2021 was made on the basis that it wanted to divert resources towards pursuing carbon-neutrality through “future power-unit and energy technologies, including fuel-cell vehicle and battery technologies”.
But since then, Honda has had a new president, and more clarity has emerged on the 2026 rules.
Honda was named as one of six companies that had officially registered as a power-unit supplier for the period 2026-2030 by governing body the FIA this month. The others are Alpine, Audi, Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull Ford.
Red Bull is switching partners to Ford from 2026 as the US giant joins forces with the new engine plant created by the soft drinks company at their F1 base, Red Bull Powertrains.
The Honda name is formally returning to F1 this year after a season’s absence, with the engine used by Red Bull officially titled a Honda RBPT.