Honda Racing

Honda, a former Formula One constructor, competed from 1964 to 1968 and again from 2006 to 2008. In 2015, they returned to the sport as an engine supplier, providing engines to McLaren and later with Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri.

Honda was initially set to supply engines to Sauber for the 2018 season, but Sauber abandoned these plans on 27 July 2017. On 15 September 2017, Honda and McLaren announced their split at the end of the 2017 season, with Honda continuing to supply engines to Toro Rosso in 2018. Honda then announced that it would exit Formula One after the 2021 season, only to return as an engine supplier to Aston Martin for 2026.

Formula 1

Honda was set to debut at the 1964 Belgian Grand Prix, but their car, the Honda RA271, wasn’t ready in time. It eventually debuted at the 1964 German Grand Prix with Ronnie Bucknum as the driver, finishing in 13th place.

At the end of 1968, Honda withdrew from the sport following the fatal crash of Jo Schlesser at the 1968 French Grand Prix that year.

Honda returned to Formula One in 1983 as an engine supplier for Spirit Racing. The RA163E turbo engine proved unreliable, leading to three race retirements. By the end of the season, Honda began supplying engines to the Williams team at the 1983 South African Grand Prix, where Keke Rosberg finished fifth, although Jacques Laffite retired after spinning off.

From 1984 to 1987, Honda supplied engines to Williams, from 1987 to 1988 to Lotus, and from 1988 to 1992 to McLaren, achieving a total of six Constructors’ Championships.

Honda exited the sport again at the end of 1992.

In 1998, Honda announced its return to Formula One, considering entering as a constructor. However, this project was abandoned in 1999 following the death of Harvey Postlethwaite.

Honda returned as an engine supplier in 2000, partnering with the BAR team. They also supplied engines to Jordan from 2001 to 2002 before focusing exclusively on their partnership with BAR from 2003 to 2005. In 2006, Honda took over the BAR team, rebranding it as Honda F1.

Due to the global economic crisis, Honda withdrew from Formula One at the end of the 2008 season, selling the team, which became Brawn GP.

In 2013, Honda announced their return to Formula One, supplying engines to McLaren starting in 2015. The 2015 season was disappointing, with the RA615H engine proving slow and unreliable, placing McLaren ninth in the Constructors’ Championship.

The 2016 season saw major improvements with the RA616H engine, but in 2017, the Honda engine again struggled with performance and reliability issues, with McLaren and Honda splitting after three years

Toro Rosso agreed to use Honda engines for the 2018 season as a works outfit. Following Honda’s rapid progress with the engines, Red Bull Racing also decided to use Honda engines for the 2019 season. Honda secured their first victory of the hybrid era at the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix, with numerous wins following for both teams. The program reached its peak in the 2021 season when Honda-powered driver Max Verstappen won the 2021 World Championship. Although Honda officially withdrew from the series after 2021 to focus on carbon-neutral technologies, they arranged to continue supplying engines to the Red Bull teams until the end of 2025. These Honda-built engines went on to win further titles in 2022 and 2023. Honda made a full-scale return in 2026 with Aston Martin as their works partner, drawn back by the introduction of more sustainable regulations.

Honda Racing Formula One World Championship Records

1969 – 2005: Honda did not compete as a constructor.

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

Entrant Names

Years	Name
1964–1966	Honda R&D Company
1967–1968	Honda Racing
1968	Honda France1
2006	Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team
2007–2008	Honda Racing F1 Team

Honda Racing Constructors’ Championship Results

Honda

Year	Car	Engine	Tyre	No.	Drivers	Rounds	Points	WCC
1964	RA271	RA271E 1.5 V12	D		Ronnie Bucknum	6, 8–9	0	—
1965	RA272	RA272E 1.5 V12	G		Ronnie Bucknum	2–4, 8–10	11	6th
					Richie Ginther	2–6, 8–10
1966	RA273	RA273E 3.0 V12	G		Richie Ginther	7–9	3	8th
					Ronnie Bucknum	8–9
1967	RA273 RA300	RA273E 3.0 V12	F		John Surtees	1–4, 6–7, 9–11	20	4th
1968	RA300 RA301 RA302	RA273E 3.0 V12 RA301E 3.0 V12 RA302E 3.0 V8	F		John Surtees	All	14	6th
					Jo Schlesser	6
					David Hobbs	9
1969–2005: Did not compete
2006	RA106	RA806E 2.4 V8	M	11	Rubens Barrichello	All	86	4th
				12	Jenson Button	All
2007	RA107	RA807E 2.4 V8	B	7	Jenson Button	All	6	8th
				8	Rubens Barrichello	All
2008	RA108	RA808E 2.4 V8	B	16	Jenson Button	All	14	9th
				17	Rubens Barrichello	All

As Privateer

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	Tyre	Drivers	Rounds
1968	Joakim Bonnier Racing Team	RA301	RA301E 3.0 V12	F	Jo Bonnier	12

As Engine Supplier

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	Tyre	No.	Drivers	Rounds	Points	WCC	Report
1983	TAG Williams Racing Team	Williams FW09	RA163E 1.5 V6t	G	1	Keke Rosberg	15	2	11th
					2	Jacques Laffite	15
	Spirit Racing	Spirit 201 Spirit 201C			40	Stefan Johansson	9–14	0	—
1984	Williams Grand Prix Engineering	Williams FW09 Williams FW09B	RA163E 1.5 V6t RA164E 1.5 V6t	G	5	Jacques Laffite	All	25.5	6th
					6	Keke Rosberg	All
1985	Canon Williams Honda Team	Williams FW10	RA164E 1.5 V6t RA165E 1.5 V6t	G	5	Nigel Mansell	All	71	3rd
					6	Keke Rosberg	All
1986	Canon Williams Honda Team	Williams FW11	RA166E 1.5 V6t	G	5	Nigel Mansell	All	141	1st
					6	Nelson Piquet	All
1987	Canon Williams Honda Team	Williams FW11B	RA167E 1.5 V6t	G	5	Nigel Mansell	1–15	137	1st
						Riccardo Patrese	16
					6	Nelson Piquet	All
	Camel Team Lotus Honda	Lotus 99T			11	Satoru Nakajima	All	64	3rd
					12	Ayrton Senna	All
1988	Camel Team Lotus Honda	Lotus 100T	RA168E 1.5 V6t	G	1	Nelson Piquet	All	23	4th
					2	Satoru Nakajima	All
	Honda Marlboro McLaren	McLaren MP4/4			11	Alain Prost	All	199	1st
					12	Ayrton Senna	All
1989	Honda Marlboro McLaren	McLaren MP4/5	RA109A 3.5 V10	G	1	Ayrton Senna	All	129 (141)	1st
					2	Alain Prost	All
1990	Honda Marlboro McLaren	McLaren MP4/5B	RA109E 3.5 V10	G	27	Ayrton Senna	All	121	1st
					28	Gerhard Berger	All
1991	Honda Marlboro McLaren	McLaren MP4/6	RA121E 3.5 V12	G	1	Ayrton Senna	All	139	1st
					2	Gerhard Berger	All
	Braun Tyrrell Honda	Tyrrell 020	RA101E 3.5 V10	P	3	Satoru Nakajima	All	12	6th
					4	Stefano Modena	All
1992	Honda Marlboro McLaren	McLaren MP4/6B McLaren MP4/7A	RA121E 3.5 V12 RA122E 3.5 V12	G	1	Ayrton Senna	All	99	2nd
					2	Gerhard Berger	All
1993–1999: Did not compete
2000	Lucky Strike Reynard BAR Honda	BAR 002	RA000E 3.0 V10	B	22	Jacques Villeneuve	All	20	5th
					23	Ricardo Zonta	All
2001	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	BAR 003	RA001E 3.0 V10	B	9	Olivier Panis	All	17	6th
					10	Jacques Villeneuve	All
	Benson & Hedges Jordan Honda	Jordan EJ11			11	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	1–11	19	5th
						Ricardo Zonta	8, 12
						Jarno Trulli	13–17
					12		1–12
						Jean Alesi	13–17
2002	DHL Jordan Honda	Jordan EJ12	RA002E 3.0 V10	B	9	Giancarlo Fisichella	All	9	6th
					10	Takuma Sato	All
	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	BAR 004			11	Jacques Villeneuve	All	7	8th
					12	Olivier Panis	All
2003	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	BAR 005	RA003E 3.0 V10	B	16	Jacques Villeneuve	1–15	26	5th
						Takuma Sato	16
					17	Jenson Button	All
2004	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	BAR 006	RA004E 3.0 V10	M	9	Jenson Button	All	119	2nd
					10	Takuma Sato	All
2005	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	BAR 007	RA005E 3.0 V10	M	3	Jenson Button	1–4, 7–19	38	6th
					4	Takuma Sato	1–4, 7–19
						Anthony Davidson	2
2006	Super Aguri F1 Team	Super Aguri SA05 Super Aguri SA06	RA806E 2.4 V8	B	22	Takuma Sato	All	0	11th
					23	Yuji Ide	1–4
						Franck Montagny	5–11
						Sakon Yamamoto	12–18
2007	Super Aguri F1 Team	Super Aguri SA07	RA807E 2.4 V8	B	22	Takuma Sato	All	4	9th
					23	Anthony Davidson	All
2008	Super Aguri F1 Team	Super Aguri SA08	RA808E 2.4 V8	B	18	Takuma Sato	1–4	0	11th
					19	Anthony Davidson	1–4
2009–2014: Did not compete
2015	McLaren Honda	McLaren MP4-30	RA615H 1.6 V6t	P	20	Kevin Magnussen	1	29	9th
					14	Fernando Alonso	2–19
					22	Jenson Button	All
2016	McLaren Honda	McLaren MP4-31	RA616H 1.6 V6t	P	14	Fernando Alonso	1, 3–21	76	6th
					47	Stoffel Vandoorne	2
					22	Jenson Button	All
2017	McLaren Honda	McLaren MCL32	RA617H 1.6 V6t	P	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	All	30	9th
					14	Fernando Alonso	1–5, 7–20
					22	Jenson Button	6
2018	Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda	Toro Rosso STR13	RA618H 1.6 V6t	P	10	Pierre Gasly	All	33	9th
					28	Brendon Hartley	All
2019	Aston Martin Red Bull Racing	Red Bull RB15	RA619H 1.6 V6t	P	33	Max Verstappen	All	417	3rd
					10	Pierre Gasly	1–12
					23	Alexander Albon	13–21
	Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda	Toro Rosso STR14					1–12	85	6th
					10	Pierre Gasly	13–21
					26	Daniil Kvyat	All
2020	Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda	AlphaTauri AT01	RA620H 1.6 V6t	P	10	Pierre Gasly	All	107	7th	Report
					26	Daniil Kvyat	All
	Aston Martin Red Bull Racing	Red Bull RB16			23	Alexander Albon	All	319	2nd	Report
					33	Max Verstappen	All
2021	Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda	AlphaTauri AT02	RA621H 1.6L V6t	P	10	Pierre Gasly	All	142	6th	Report
					22	Yuki Tsunoda	All
	Red Bull Racing Honda	Red Bull RB16B			33	Max Verstappen	All	585.5	2nd	Report
					11	Sergio Pérez	All

Honda RBPT

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	Tyre	No.	Drivers	Rounds	Points	WCC	Report
2023	Scuderia AlphaTauri	AlphaTauri AT04	Honda RBPTH001 1.6L V6t	P	22	Yuki Tsunoda	1–11	25	8th	Report
					21	Nyck de Vries	1–11
					3	Daniel Ricciardo	12–14, 19-11
					40	Liam Lawson	14–18
	Oracle Red Bull Racing	Red Bull RB19			1	Max Verstappen	1–11	860	1st	Report
					11	Sergio Pérez	1–11

Source: Wikipedia.com and fandom.com