Honda Set to Revive F1 Partnership with New Team: Sources

According to reports, Aston Martin is said to be finalizing a deal to become Honda's new works team for the 2026 season, thus parting ways with its current engine partner.

After returning to Formula 1 with McLaren and then joining AlphaTauri before partnering with Red Bull, Honda won the 2021 Drivers’ Championship with Max Verstappen. At the beginning of the season, Honda announced its withdrawal from the sport, but stayed on to help Red Bull operate the engines through the Red Bull Powertrains division.

This arrangement was extended to the end of 2025, which is the last season under the current regulations. Aston Martin is now reportedly close to becoming Honda's new works team in 2026.

Aston Martin is reportedly in talks to become Honda's new works team in Formula 1 from 2026

Honda made a comeback in Formula 1 with McLaren and then partnered with AlphaTauri before joining Red Bull. They won the 2021 Drivers’ Championship with Max Verstappen, but announced their withdrawal from the sport at the beginning of the season. However, Honda stayed on to help Red Bull operate the engines through the Red Bull Powertrains division until the end of 2025. Reportedly, Aston Martin is now close to becoming Honda's new works team in 2026.

According to The Race, “multiple sources have indicated Honda will commit to the new regulations after all, with Aston Martin – currently a Mercedes engine customer – tipped to be its partner.”

For the 2026 season, Honda has limited options for engine partnerships as Red Bull and AlphaTauri have already partnered with Ford for the new generation of power units. This means less than half of the grid is available for Honda to form a new partnership.

Ferrari, Mercedes, and Alpine are all factory teams in Formula 1, while Sauber is expected to become an Audi factory team. This leaves only four teams that are not currently affiliated with a factory team: McLaren, Haas, Williams, and Aston Martin.

Words by Scott Mitchell-Malm

“The expectation,” writes Scott Mitchell-Malm, “is that it will be Aston Martin that Honda works with.”

“Aston Martin has made its interest in a works engine supply clear, having even tentatively explored its own power unit in the style of Red Bull Powertrains.”

“When that was determined to be unviable, Aston Martin considered its alternatives. And Honda was the only route to a works engine deal.

Challenges ahead for Aston Martin if it decides to change engine supplier

Aston Martin, formerly known as Force India and Racing Point, has been using Mercedes engines since 2009. The partnership was expanded to include gearbox and suspensions, and the AMR23, which finished on the podium this year, has a rear end that looks almost identical to the Mercedes F1 car. However, if Aston Martin were to switch to a new engine partner, they would also have to develop their own gearboxes, which would be a challenging task for a team that has not done so for many years.