Honda entered Formula One Grand Prix racing in 1964, four years after producing their first road car. They began development of the RA271 in 1962, building their own engine and chassis. In their second year of competition, Honda achieved a victory with Richie Ginther in the RA272 at the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix. For the new 3.0 L rules from 1966, Honda introduced the Honda RA273. The RA273's engine was a 360 hp (265 kW) V12, but the car was hindered by a heavy chassis. Honda returned to the winner's circle in 1967 with the new Honda RA300, driven by John Surtees, which won the 1967 Italian Grand Prix in its first race. The RA300 chassis was partly designed by Lola in the UK, leading to the nickname Hondola. The team finished fourth in the constructors' championship, with Surtees also finishing fourth in the drivers' championship. The following year's Honda RA301 had reliability problems but scored two podiums and a pole position. The team's new Honda RA302 appeared in only one race at Rouen-Les-Essarts, where a fiery crash resulted in the death of driver Jo Schlesser. This tragedy and the desire to focus on selling road cars in the United States prompted Honda to withdraw from Formula One at the end of the 1968 season.
Honda returned in 1983 as an engine manufacturer, starting a very successful period. They partnered with Williams (1983–87), Lotus (1987–88), McLaren (1988–92), and Tyrrell (1991). Honda made its World Championship debut as an engine supplier with Spirit's driver Stefan Johansson at the 1983 British Grand Prix. Keke Rosberg gave Honda its first win as an engine supplier at the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix. By the end of the 1985 season, Nigel Mansell and Rosberg won the final three races, establishing Honda as a dominant engine. Honda won the Constructors' Championship every year between 1986 and 1991 with Williams and McLaren, and the Drivers' Championship every year from 1987 to 1991 with Nelson Piquet, Ayrton Senna, and Alain Prost. Their supreme year as an engine supplier came with McLaren in 1988, where the McLaren MP4/4 and Honda RA168E engine claimed 15 pole positions and 15 race wins in 16 races. Senna won the Drivers' Championship that year. For the new 3.5 L naturally aspirated regulations in 1989, Honda debuted the RA109E V10 in the McLaren MP4/5, powering Prost to the 1989 Drivers' Championship. In 1990, a developed V10 powered Senna to the 1990 Drivers' Championship. For 1991, Honda developed a new V12, the RA121E, with which Senna won his third World Championship. In 1992, McLaren-Honda finished second in the Constructors' Championship. Honda's final win of this era came when Gerhard Berger won the 1992 Australian Grand Prix. Honda withdrew at the end of 1992 due to the burst of the Japanese asset price bubble.
Honda returned in 2000, providing engines for British American Racing (BAR). BAR-Honda finished second in the Constructors' Championship in 2004. By the end of 2005, Honda bought out the BAR team, rebranding it as Honda Racing F1 Team for 2006. Jenson Button won the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix for the team. In December 2008, Honda announced its immediate exit from Formula One due to the 2008 financial crisis, following limited success in 2007 and 2008. The team was eventually saved by a management buy-out led by Ross Brawn and Nick Fry, entering the 2009 season as Brawn GP.
In 2015, Honda returned as a works power unit supplier to McLaren, providing their RA Series Hybrid engines. The initial iterations of the Honda power units were uncompetitive, and McLaren and Honda split after three years. Toro Rosso agreed to use Honda engines for the 2018 season. After Honda showed fast development, Red Bull Racing also took on Honda engines for the 2019 season. Honda achieved their first victory of the hybrid era at the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix. The program culminated in the 2021 season, when Honda-powered driver Max Verstappen won the World Championship. Honda officially withdrew from the series after 2021 to focus on carbon neutral technologies, though they continued supplying the Red Bull teams until the end of 2025, with Honda-built engines winning further titles in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
In December 2022, Honda, under its subsidiary Honda Racing Corporation (HRC), registered its interest with the FIA to be a power unit manufacturer when new regulations are introduced in 2026. In May 2023, Honda confirmed its entry for 2026 and announced it would supply its hybrid power units to Aston Martin as a works team. The increased role of the electric element of the power units and the introduction of 100% sustainable fuels played a key role in enticing the company to make a full-scale return.
From 1993 to 1998, Honda's only presence in Formula One was as an engine supplier through Mugen Motorsports. Mugen-powered cars won four Grands Prix by the end of the 1999 season. In 1998, Honda considered entering as a constructor, hiring Harvey Postlethwaite and building a test car, RA099. After Postlethwaite's fatal heart attack, the project was shelved, and Honda recommitted as a full works engine supplier to BAR starting in 2000.
Following their decision to withdraw from Formula One at the end of 2021, Honda agreed to a deal with Red Bull to continue constructing, servicing, and supplying Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri with power units from its facility in Sakura. This deal was made possible by a power unit development freeze introduced for 2022. During the 2022 season, the Honda-designed engines were badged as Red Bull Powertrains (RBPT). Honda's branding presence was reduced, with HRC logos replacing Honda logos. At the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix, Honda and Red Bull announced a strengthening of their partnership, with Honda branding returning. Honda returned as a named power unit supplier for the 2023 season, supplying power units badged as Honda RBPT. Honda's power unit design for the 2022–2025 period was strong, contributing to Red Bull's success. In 2022, Max Verstappen clinched his second consecutive title with a win in Japan. At the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix, Red Bull won their 12th consecutive race, breaking McLaren's record from 1988.
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