Honda’s involvement began as a full team and engine entry in the 1964 season, achieving their first victory at the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix with driver Richie Ginther. After further success with John Surtees, Honda withdrew at the end of the 1968 season due to difficulties selling road cars in the United States and the fatal accident of driver Jo Schlesser.
Honda returned in 1983 as an engine manufacturer, initiating a successful period for the company. After winning races in 1984 and 1985, 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. Honda withdrew at the end of 1992 after achieving their targets and following the burst of the Japanese asset price bubble.
Honda returned again in 2000, providing engines for British American Racing (BAR). BAR-Honda finished second in the Constructors' Championship in 2004, and by the end of 2005 Honda had bought out the BAR team, rebranding it as Honda for 2006. After winning in 2006 with Jenson Button at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Honda announced in December 2008 that they would be exiting Formula One due to the 2008 financial crisis.
In 2015, Honda returned as a works power unit supplier to McLaren, providing their RA Series Hybrid engines. The initial iterations proved uncompetitive, leading to a split between McLaren and Honda after three years. Toro Rosso agreed to use Honda engines for the 2018 season, and Red Bull Racing followed in 2019. Honda achieved their first victory of the hybrid era at the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix, with numerous wins following with both teams. The programme culminated in the 2021 season, when Honda-powered driver Max Verstappen won the World Championship. The company officially withdrew from the series after 2021 to focus on carbon neutral technologies, but continued supplying the Red Bull teams until the end of 2025, with Honda-built engines winning further titles in 2022, 2023 and 2024. They will return in 2026 with Aston Martin as their works partner, enticed by the introduction of more sustainable regulations.
As an engine manufacturer, Honda has won six World Constructors' Championships, six World Drivers' Championships and over 80 Grands Prix, ranking fifth in Formula One history. In addition to their success as an engine manufacturer, their three Grand Prix wins as a team owner make them the only Japanese or Asian team to win in Formula One.
Honda entered Formula One Grand Prix racing in 1964, four years after producing their first road car. They developed the RA271, startling the European-dominated Formula One garages with their all-Japanese factory team. For the RA271, Honda built their own engine and chassis, something only Ferrari and BRM had previously done.
In 1965, Honda achieved their first victory at the Mexican Grand Prix with Ginther driving the RA272. For the 3.0 L rules from 1966, Honda introduced the Honda RA273. Although the RA273's engine was a well-designed 360 hp (265 kW) V12, the car was let down by a heavy chassis. Honda returned to the winner's circle in 1967 with the new Honda RA300, driven by John Surtees, winning the Italian Grand Prix. The RA300 chassis was partly designed by Lola in the UK, earning it 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 finished on the podium twice and secured a pole position. The new Honda RA302 appeared in only one race at Rouen-Les-Essarts, crashing and resulting in the death of driver Jo Schlesser. This, combined with a desire to focus on road car sales in the United States, prompted Honda to withdraw from Formula One at the end of the 1968 season.
Honda returned to Formula One in 1983 as an engine supplier for Spirit, staying for a decade, teaming with Williams (1983–87), Lotus (1987–88), McLaren (1988–92) and Tyrrell (1991). Honda did not always supply the same specification engines to different teams in the same season. In 1987, Williams had the latest 1.5-litre V6 engine, while Lotus used the 1986 engine adapted to a lower fuel limit. In 1988, both Lotus and McLaren used the same specification V6. In 1991, McLaren had the latest V12, while Tyrrell used the 1990 V10, tuned by Mugen. McLaren had direct factory support, while Tyrrell relied on private tuner Mugen.
Lotus and Tyrrell secured Honda engines partly due to agreeing to sign former Honda test driver Satoru Nakajima.
Stefan Johansson debuted the Honda engine at the 1983 British Grand Prix, qualifying 14th. By the end of 1983, Honda partnered with Williams, where Keke Rosberg demonstrated the engine’s pace by qualifying 6th at the final race in South Africa.
Rosberg won the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix, giving Honda their first win as an engine supplier. By the end of 1985, Rosberg and Nigel Mansell had won the final three races, establishing Honda as the engine to beat.
At their peak (1986–91), Honda engines were considered essential for Grand Prix glory due to their power, reliability, and sophistication. Nigel Mansell recalled that Honda was developing four to six different engines in a single season. Honda won six consecutive constructors' championships (two with Williams, four with McLaren) and five consecutive drivers' championships (Nelson Piquet in 1987, Ayrton Senna in 1988, 1990 and 1991, and Alain Prost in 1989).
The 1988 season was particularly successful for Honda with McLaren. The McLaren MP4/4, driven by Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, and powered by the new V6 turbo, dominated the season. McLaren-Honda claimed 15 pole positions and 13 wins, with Senna winning eight races and Prost winning seven. McLaren-Honda scored a record 199 points in the constructors' championship, 134 ahead of Ferrari. Senna won the Drivers’ Championship.
The 1989 season saw Honda debut the RA109E V10, continuing McLaren’s dominance, with Prost winning the championship. Senna won the 1990 and 1991 championships with further developed versions of the V10, and the new V12 RA121E. Gerhard Berger won the 1992 Australian Grand Prix, Honda’s final win before withdrawing at the end of the season due to the Japanese asset price bubble.
By the end of 1992, Honda-powered cars had won 71 Grands Prix, 69 as an engine supplier. Williams had 23 wins, Lotus 2, and McLaren 44.
Honda returned in 2000, providing engines for BAR. They also supplied engines to Jordan for the 2001 and 2002 seasons. Honda bought 45% of BAR in November 2004, completing the purchase in January 2005 and rebranding the team as Honda for 2006.
Honda’s first season as a team since 1968 started well, with Jenson Button finishing fourth at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Button won the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix, and the team finished fourth in the constructors' championship.
The 2007 season was less successful, with the team finishing eighth in the constructors' championship. The 2008 season also lacked success, and Honda announced their withdrawal from Formula One in December 2008 due to the financial crisis.
The team was saved by a management buy-out led by Ross Brawn and Nick Fry, becoming Brawn GP for the 2009 season, using Honda engines. Brawn GP won both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships in 2009, before being bought by Mercedes.
Honda returned as an engine supplier to McLaren in 2015. The initial power units were uncompetitive, and the partnership ended after three years.
In 2018, Honda partnered with Toro Rosso, and in 2019, Red Bull Racing also used Honda engines. Verstappen won Honda’s first race of the hybrid era at the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix. Honda won numerous races with both teams, culminating in Max Verstappen winning the 2021 World Championship. Honda withdrew from Formula One after 2021 to focus on carbon neutral technologies, but continued to supply Red Bull until the end of 2025.
Honda continued to supply Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri with power units until the end of 2025, with the engines badged as Red Bull Powertrains. These engines contributed to Red Bull’s success, winning the Constructors’ Championships in 2022, 2023 and the Drivers’ Championships in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
In December 2022, Honda registered its interest with the FIA to be a power unit manufacturer for 2026. In May 2023, Honda confirmed they would supply Aston Martin as a works partner from 2026, enticed by the new sustainable regulations.
Honda has won six World Constructors' Championships, six World Drivers' Championships and over 80 Grands Prix.
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