Honda RA626H F1 engine debuts as Aston Martin kick starts works team era

It’s not often that a Formula 1 engine manufacturer stages an unveiling, but such is the excitement over Honda’s new partnership with Aston Martin that the Japanese manufacturer did just that.

Taking place in Tokyo, Honda unveiled its “new era power unit”, the RA626H, its first engine using Formula 1’s all-new engine regulations that will power the Aston Martin AMR26.

Honda: This is not mere competition; it is a battle

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Honda announced back in 2021 that it was calling time on its stint with Red Bull, but would remain with the Milton Keynes squad on the fringes, assisting Red Bull and its newly created Red Bull Powertrains in running the Honda engines as its own. Together, they won four Drivers’ Championship titles from 2021 to 2024, and two Constructors’ crowns.

Honda surprised the paddock when two years after the Red Bull announcement, it signed up to be an engine supplier in F1 2026’s all-new technical era and confirmed its full-scale return with Aston Martin.

“One of the key reasons for our decision to take up the new challenge in F1 is that the world’s pinnacle form of racing is striving to become a sustainable racing series, which is in line with the direction Honda is aiming toward carbon neutrality, and it will become a platform which will facilitate the development of our electrification technologies,” Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe explained at the time.

Aston Martin will be Honda’s only customer this season, the Silverstone team effectively becoming a works team.

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The new engine, called the ‘RA626H’, will run on sustainable fuel for the first time in Formula 1’s history while also including a 50/50 split between electric and combustion power.

“Formula 1 is evolving into a new generation motor sport,” Mibe said during Tuesday’s launch. “The cost cap system will pose strict limitation. With limited resources we must achieve a massive result.

“This is not mere competition; it is a battle with ingenuity and technology refined to perfection.”

He added: “Through our new challenge, Honda wishes to share the joys of winning. Not only with the fans who have supported us over the years, but also with new fans who will help shape this new era for the motorsport.

“Together with Aston Martin, Honda will compete on the world stage to convey the true excitement and value of taking on challenges to reach the pinnacle of the world.”

Aston Martin team owner Lawrence Stroll believes that with Honda, Aston Martin has everything it needs to achieve success in Formula 1.

He explained: “It is going to be an incredibly important chapter in our history. For us partnership with Honda from 2026 and becoming a true works team for the first time is a pivotal and hugely excitement moment in our Formula 1 history.

“Under the new leadership of our managing technical partner Adrian Newey and our chief strategy officer Andy Cowell, our entire team is evolving together in the pursuit of our goals.

“We are pushing boundaries and working tirelessly with future success at the forefront of our mind. Starting in 2026, we have entered a true works partnership with Honda meaning the chassis and the power unit are designed as one integrated package, a move that is crucial to our championship-winning aspirations.

“I am extremely confident we now have everything we need to achieve success.”

Aston Martin’s 2026 car, the AMR26, will hit the track at the Circuit de Catalunya in a behind-closed-door test that will run from 26 January for five days, with all teams permitted three days of on-track running.

The team will officially unveil the car on 9 February, just days before the second of the three pre-season tests in Bahrain that runs from 11 to 13 February, with a second Bahrain outing from 18 to 20 February.

The F1 2026 season will begin with the Australian Grand Prix on March 8.

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