Honda entered Formula One in 1964, just four years after producing their first road car. Their entry was remarkable for being an all-Japanese factory team — aside from American drivers Ronnie Bucknum and Richie Ginther — and for building both engine and chassis in-house, something only Ferrari and BRM had done among contemporary competitors. In only their second season, Ginther won the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix driving the RA272, giving Honda their first victory.
For the 3.0-litre regulations introduced in 1966, Honda fielded the RA273, which housed a capable V12 engine but suffered from a heavy chassis. The team returned to victory in 1967 when John Surtees drove the RA300 to win the Italian Grand Prix on its very first Formula One start. The RA300 chassis was partly designed by Lola in the UK, earning it the press nickname "Hondola." The following year's RA301 encountered reliability problems, and the RA302 appeared in only one race at Rouen-Les-Essarts before a crash claimed the life of driver Jo Schlesser. That tragedy, combined with Honda's desire to focus on selling road cars in the United States, prompted their withdrawal at the end of 1968.
Honda returned to Formula One in 1983 as an engine supplier, initially partnering with Spirit before moving to Williams, Lotus, McLaren, and Tyrrell at various times across the decade. Keke Rosberg gave Honda their first win as an engine supplier at the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix driving a Williams.
The period from 1986 to 1991 represented the peak of Honda's Formula One involvement. Honda engines powered cars to six consecutive Constructors' Championships — two with Williams and four with McLaren — and five consecutive Drivers' Championships, won by Nelson Piquet (1987), Ayrton Senna (1988, 1990, 1991), and Alain Prost (1989). The supreme expression of this dominance came in 1988 when the McLaren MP4/4, powered by Honda's RA168E V6 turbo, claimed 15 pole positions and 15 race victories from 16 rounds. McLaren-Honda scored a then-record 199 points in the Constructors' Championship, while the title battle was contested exclusively between Senna and Prost. In the 1989–1991 naturally aspirated period, Honda introduced new V10 and V12 engines that proved equally dominant. By the end of 1992, Honda-powered cars had won 71 Grands Prix total in this era. Honda withdrew after 1992 as the burst of the Japanese asset price bubble affected their business.
During the 1993–1998 gap, Honda's indirect presence continued through Mugen Motorsports, an affiliated but independent engine tuner that supplied cars to Footwork, Lotus, Ligier, Prost, and Jordan. Mugen-powered cars won four Grands Prix by the end of 1999.
Honda returned in 2000 as a works engine supplier to British American Racing (BAR), also providing engines to Jordan Grand Prix in 2001 and 2002. BAR-Honda achieved second place in the 2004 Constructors' Championship behind Michael Schumacher's dominant Ferrari. In late 2005, Honda purchased BAR outright, rebranding it as the Honda Racing F1 Team for 2006.
As a constructor, Honda's 2006 season delivered one famous result: Jenson Button's victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix, coming from fourteenth on the grid in a rain-affected race. It was the team's only win of the era. The 2007 season brought severe underperformance, with the RA107 finishing eighth in the Constructors' Championship. The team shifted development focus to 2009 regulations mid-season. In December 2008, during the global financial crisis, Honda announced immediate withdrawal, unwilling to sustain a $300 million annual budget. The team was saved by a management buyout led by team principal Ross Brawn and entered 2009 as Brawn GP, powered by Mercedes. Brawn GP won both championships that year before being acquired by Mercedes to form their works team.
Honda announced their return in 2013 as an engine supplier to McLaren, beginning in 2015. Their RA Series Hybrid power units were designed around McLaren's tight "size zero" chassis concept, which contributed to fundamental packaging and thermal management problems. Over three seasons the partnership failed to match the front-runners: the team finished ninth in 2015 and improved only modestly. After repeated reliability failures and a deteriorating relationship, McLaren and Honda parted at the end of 2017.
Toro Rosso took on Honda engines for 2018, giving Honda a more cooperative working relationship. The RA618H proved markedly more reliable, and by mid-season Red Bull Racing announced they would also switch to Honda for 2019. The Austrian Grand Prix that year delivered Honda their first win in the V6 turbo-hybrid era, with Max Verstappen driving for Red Bull. Further wins followed, including a Honda 1–2 at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix when Pierre Gasly in his Toro Rosso-Honda finished second behind Verstappen.
In October 2020, Honda announced withdrawal after 2021 to concentrate on carbon-neutral road car technology, but committed to competing for the championship in 2021 with an all-new power unit, the RA621H. The unit proved highly competitive, and Verstappen won the 2021 World Championship in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after overtaking Lewis Hamilton on the final lap. It was Honda's first title in thirty years, and Verstappen became the first Honda-powered champion since Senna in 1991.
Following their formal exit, Honda agreed to continue constructing and supplying power units to Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri from their facility in Sakura, operating through Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) and branded as Red Bull Powertrains (RBPT) for 2022, then Honda RBPT from 2023. Verstappen clinched further Drivers' Championships in 2022, 2023, and 2024 with these Honda-built units. Red Bull also secured Constructors' Championships in 2022 and 2023.
In December 2022 Honda formally registered with the FIA to participate as a power unit manufacturer under the 2026 regulations, which require 50 percent of total power to come from electrical elements and mandate 100 percent sustainable fuels. In May 2023, Honda confirmed Aston Martin as their works partner. The partnership revives a historic connection: Honda had supplied engines to the team's predecessor Jordan Grand Prix in 2001 and 2002, and Mugen-Honda engines ran with the Jordan squad between 1998 and 2000.