Honda Engines & Max Verstappens F1 World Title

Max Verstappen secured his second Formula One World Championship driver’s title at the Japanese Grand Prix, which took place at the Suzuka Circuit recently. While this represented a convincing victory, with a number of races still remaining it was also a great opportunity for Honda to reaffirm their commitment to Formula One.

When Honda started their current Formula One project back in 2015, winning the championship was always the goal. This victory is the seventh drivers world champion for a Honda-powered team and the second since Ayrton Senna clinched victory in 1991.

While Honda ceased official participation at the end of 2021, they announced that they would maintain links with Red Bull throughout the Formula One engine freeze period, which commenced this year and will last until 2025. 

This partnership saw Honda share its engine design with Red Bull at the end of last year and Honda continued to maintain and supply these engines from its base in japan, although they were no longer badged Honda.

This partnership allowed Red Bull to take advantage of Honda’s engineering prowess and that has certainly paid off, with a convincing championship victory and very little mechanical issues throughout the year, while also allowing Honda to remain in touch with the pinnacle of motorsport.

However, in October it was announced that the Honda logo will once again adorn both the Red Bull RB18 and AlphaTauri AT03 as Honda ramp up their partnership with their former F1 engine customers once again. Honda have also admitted an interest in the new for 2026 power unit regulations and this is a big feather in the cap of Formula One regulators, with the revised regulations able to lure Honda back to the sport

Honda has a long history in Formula One, going back to the glory days of McLaren and Ayrton Senna and this return is a massive win for the sport of Formula One as it brings with it significant support from Japanese fans.

Under the current regulations Formula One engines measure 1600cc and make use of six-cylinder, split into a V shape and assisted by turbocharging.

The 2026 engine regulations will see the total power from the electric motor increase from 120kW to 350kW and the engines will run on sustainable fuels sourced from non-food plants, municipal waste or carbon capture. The output of these turbocharged 1.6-litre engines will remain at approximately 635kW.