Honda ‘can’t live without F1’ as 2026 power unit reveal date set

Thomas Maher 16 Dec 2025 11:22 AM

Honda logo, pictured on an F1 car.

Honda is set to launch its brand-new F1 2026 power unit in its own bespoke reveal event in Japan in mid-January.

The formal return of Honda to Formula 1 will see the Japanese manufacturer celebrate its new era with a launch event in its home country.

Honda announces launch date for new F1 power unit

Honda returns as an official power unit supplier in the F1 2026 season, having officially left the sport behind in 2021.

To celebrate its return, Honda and Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) will unveil its new F1 power unit in Tokyo on January 20th, six days before the beginning of the closed-doors pre-season test in Barcelona.

The event, which is set to be livestreamed on YouTube, will “kickstart” its F1 return, and sees Honda President and CEO Toshihiro Mibe joined by Aston Martin chairman Lawrence Stroll and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.

Honda’s official return sees the manufacturer join forces with Stroll’s Aston Martin squad, which moves away from Mercedes power, while Red Bull’s two teams, powered by Honda engines for almost a decade, will switch to engines created by its own new Red Bull Powertrains division.

Aside from the reveal of the brand new power unit, Honda says it intends to outline all the aspirations it and its new partner have for the new regulation cycle, with the rules changing to increase electrification to a 50/50 split against internal combustion.

“I think Honda probably can’t live without F1,” said HRC President Koji Watanabe.

“Looking specifically at the technology, however, the power unit regulation changes for 2026 were an important factor in Honda’s decision to return to the sport.

“These regulations encourage a 50:50 output split between the internal combustion engine and the electric motor, with the latter nearly tripling in output from 120kW to 350kW. Add to that the requirement to use advanced sustainable fuels, and this becomes very much in line with Honda’s philosophy on future propulsion systems.

“It also fits with our business orientation. The pinnacle of motorsport is the place to refine our technology, improve our technical capabilities, and stand on a world stage that will allow us to showcase all of this. This is very important for the future of Honda.”

Last week, Honda released a teaser audio clip of its new power unit being fired up.

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Why Honda is ‘returning’ despite never leaving…

While Red Bull and Racing Bulls continued to be powered by Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) power units between 2022 and ’25, these units were locked out of any performance-related development since the switch to E10 fuel at the start of 2022.

Honda had confirmed its withdrawal from F1 in 2021, citing new carbon-neutrality goals that were at odds with its motorsport activities but, winning its first title of the modern era with Max Verstappen that season, agreed to create a new power unit for the four-year engine freeze introduced by F1 at the start of ’22, due to the strong working relationship it had with Red Bull.

Building a completely new power unit for the new E10 fuel, a switch that represented a huge engineering challenge in terms of reliability due to a significant cylinder pressure increase, Honda’s new power unit for ’22 ultimately proved extremely competitive.

With Honda merging its racing R&D facility at Sakura and its motorsport division into Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) in 2022, the Japanese manufacturer entered a technical collaboration with Red Bull’s newly-established Powertrains division.

The intent was for Honda to hand over its IP to RBPT to allow Red Bull to take over the manufacturing and upkeep of the power units, but, with this transition proving more difficult than anticipated, Honda opted to continue manufacturing and maintaining the engines on behalf of Red Bull, as well as providing on-site operational support. Honda thus retained the IP for the power units.

With the contract being between the HRC division and Red Bull, Honda was not registered as a manufacturer in its own right, despite continuing to manufacture and maintain the RBPTH001, 002, and 003 power units on behalf of its customer teams.

This situation changes for F1 2026, with the manufacturer returning with a full-bore effort that ‘returns’ the Honda name to the grid for the first time since ’21.