 | This article's lead section may be too long. (April 2024) |
 | |
| Full name | Honda Racing F1 Team (2006–2008) Honda R & D Company (1964–1968) |
|---|---|
| Base | |
| Noted staff | Yoshio Nakamura Nobuhiko Kawamoto Yoshitoshi Sakurai Osamu Goto Takeo Kiuchi Ross Brawn Nick Fry Toyoharu Tanabe Masashi Yamamoto Yasuaki Asaki |
| Noted drivers |  Ronnie Bucknum Richie Ginther Jo Schlesser John Surtees Jenson Button Rubens Barrichello |
| Website | honda |
| Previous name | British American Racing |
| Next name | Brawn GP Formula One Team |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| First entry | 1964 German Grand Prix |
| Races entered | 88 |
| Engines | Honda |
| Constructors' Championships | 0 |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Race victories | 3 |
| Podiums | 9 |
| Points | 154 |
| Pole positions | 2 |
| Fastest laps | 2 |
| Final entry | 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
|---|---|
| First entry | 1964 German Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |
| Races entered | 482 (481 starts) |
| Chassis | Honda, Spirit, Williams, Lotus, McLaren, Tyrrell, BAR, Jordan, Super Aguri, Toro Rosso, Red Bull, AlphaTauri |
| Constructors' Championships | 6 (1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991)[a] |
| Drivers' Championships | 6 (1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2021)[b] |
| Race victories | 89[c] |
| Podiums | 223 |
| Points | 3409 |
| Pole positions | 90 |
| Fastest laps | 76 |
The Japanese automobile manufacturer Honda has participated in Formula One, as an engine manufacturer and team owner, for various periods since 1964. They are currently active participants in the form of engine manufacturers since 2015, producing the RA Series Hybrid power units currently powering the Red Bull Racing Formula One team and the Visa Cash App RB Formula One team.
Honda's involvement in Formula One began as a full team and engine entry in the 1964 season, and in 1965 they achieved their first victory at the Mexican Grand Prix. 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 Honda driver Jo Schlesser's fatal accident.[3]
Honda returned in 1983 as an engine manufacturer, which started a very 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 having achieved their targets and suffering 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, which was rebranded 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 with immediate effect due to the global financial crisis, following limited success across 2007 and 2008.[4]
In 2015, Honda returned to the sport as a works power unit supplier to McLaren, providing their RA Series Hybrid engines to the team.[5] The first iterations of the Honda power units proved to be uncompetitive, and McLaren and Honda split after three years. Toro Rosso agreed to use Honda engines for the 2018 season as a works outfit,[6] and after Honda showed fast development with the engines, Red Bull Racing agreed to also take on Honda engines for the 2019 season. Honda achieved their first victory of the hybrid era at the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix,[7] and numerous wins followed thereafter 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 its resources on carbon neutral technologies, although an arrangement was made for them to continue supplying the Red Bull teams until the end of 2025, with the Honda-built engines winning further titles in 2022 and 2023.[d] They will make a full-scale return in 2026 with Aston Martin as their works partner, enticed by the introduction of more sustainable regulations.[citation needed]
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.
- ^ "Case History". Corktree.tripod.com. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
- ^ "Honda Factory to Be Based in Milton Keynes". autosport.com. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ McDonald, Mark; Spurgeon, Brad (5 December 2008). "Honda withdraws from Formula One racing". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
- ^ "Global crisis ends Honda F1 era". news.bbc.co.uk. 5 December 2008. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
- ^ "Honda confirms they will return to F1 in 2015 to supply engines to McLaren". FOX Sports. 17 May 2013. Archived from the original on 27 June 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
- ^ "McLaren-Honda split after three years of troubled partnership". BBC Sport. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ "Top Stories of 2019, #8: Honda's hybrid finally comes good". www.motorsport.com. 24 December 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).