Honda launched its brand new power unit for the F1 2026 regulations, as it readies to partner with Aston Martin in the new era.
Having initially decided against continuing in F1 beyond the 2025 season, certain changes from the FIA on the power unit side of the regulations lured them back. But by then, the decision by Red Bull was made on developing its own Powertrains with the help of Ford Racing.
Honda entered in talks with few teams before committing to Aston Martin. The Silverstone-based team under Lawrence Stroll has been in expansion mode and becoming a works team seems like a logical step after the proven record of the Japanese manufacturer in the hybrid era with title wins.
They started on a bad note, but with Red Bull, they eventually came good. It has been a long process of integration between Aston Martin and Honda, even pushing Andy Cowell to leave his team principal role to become the key figure to bridge the chassis and power unit team.
After supplying for two teams in recent times, Honda will be back to supplying one for the immediate future. Despite the proven credentials, it is still a big task for the Japanese manufacturer. They held a launch programme to showcase it’s the 2026 F1 power unit, the RA626H.
The event featured Stroll, Cowell along with Honda’s Toshihiro Mibe & Koji Watanabe and F1 boss Stefano Domenicali. During the launch, Honda also revealed its revamped ‘H’ logo, which will adopted across its business going forward. Aston Martin will reveal its 2026 car and livery in Saudi Arabia on February 9.
“I am delighted to celebrate the start of our partnership with Honda here in Tokyo today,” said Stroll. “Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team and Honda share many values, and those values have brought us together for 2026 and beyond. The strong collaboration between the AMR Technology Centre at Silverstone and Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) in Sakura demonstrates the depth of our partnership.
“We are confident that we have all the elements required to fight for victory in the future and we have tremendous faith in Honda’s Power Unit and the engineers behind it. Our journey won’t always be easy and challenges inevitably lie ahead, but winning is what drives both companies forward and together we look forward to many successful years of partnership.”
Mibe added: “Honda’s participation in F1, the pinnacle of automobile racing, has been the embodiment of the spirit of the company founder, Soichiro Honda, who inspired Honda engineers to commit to becoming No.1 in the world and to take on the most difficult challenges. In 2026, F1 will undergo a major change in regulations for both the chassis and power unit.
“Honda sees F1 as a symbol of challenge and innovation, and HRC, the global racing arm of Honda, has developed the RA626H, the new power unit for the 2026 season, to meet those challenges. Striving to become number One in the world, Honda will continue to take on challenges together with the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team.
“Today we also launch a new H mark with a refreshed design, which Honda has adopted as the new symbol representing its automobile business. This new H mark symbolizes the transformation of Honda ‘s automobile business so it is an important moment for us.”
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