Honda inches closer to F1 return with FIA registration

Honda has registered with the FIA as a potential engine manufacturer for 2026, a move that allows the Japanese company to consider an official return to Formula 1 in three years' time.

Honda officially departed Formula 1 at the end of 2021, but the Japanese manufacturer has since continued to collaborate with Red Bull based on a support agreement managed by its racing subsidiary, Honda Racing Corporation, that runs until the end of 2025.

Honda's official retreat from F1 was initially justified by the manufacturer's plans to divert its resources towards the company's electrification projects as part of its carbon-neutral goals.

But Red Bull's success in F1 in the past two seasons coupled with a greater electrification component in the sport's future power unit regulations that will kick off in 2026 has prompted Honda to put an F1 engine project on its rails.

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Honda's registration with the FIA does not guarantee the Japanese manufacturer's return to the grid in 2026, but it does give the company a justification to advance its research into the development of a next-generation engine as Honda Racing president Koji Watanabe explained.

“As HRC, we have registered as a PU manufacturer after 2026,” said Watanabe during Honda’s 2023 Honda Motor Sports Activity Plan Presentation.

“The F1 regulations from 2026 onwards are moving in the direction of carbon neutrality.

“In addition, the fact that electrification is also being promoted, and the carbon neutrality and electrification that Honda Motor Co., Ltd. is promoting, is the same. The targets match.

“As a racing company, we have registered as a manufacturer in order to advance research on racing.

“There is also the fact that November 15 was the deadline (for registration). We have registered as a manufacturer in order to continue [this research].”

Regarding Honda's current arrangement with Red Bull, it's unclear at this stage how much collaboration, if any, with take place in the future between the manufacturer and Red Bull Powertrains which aims to produce its own engine in the coming years.

However, Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko alluded earlier this year to the two partners extending their work together beyond 2026, with Red Bull's engine department particularly interested in Honda's expertise and input on the electrical front.

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