1. The 1960s start

Honda did something almost no one does: it built the whole car.

Honda entered Formula 1 in 1964 as a full constructor — chassis and engine — barely a decade after the company began making cars. It won the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix with Richie Ginther, and again at the 1967 Italian Grand Prix with John Surtees, before withdrawing at the end of 1968.¹ The template was set: arrive, win, leave.

2. The golden age: McLaren-Honda & Senna

Honda returned in the 1980s as an engine supplier — and dominated. After powering Williams to constructors’ titles in 1986 and 1987, it joined McLaren from 1988, and the result is one of the most famous pairings in the sport’s history.²

3. The works team & the Brawn twist

Honda came back in the 2000s, first supplying BAR, then buying the team to race as a full Honda works team from 2006. Jenson Button won the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix — but results faded, and in a now-legendary piece of timing Honda pulled out at the end of 2008 amid the financial crisis. The team it abandoned was bought by Ross Brawn, became Brawn GP, and won both 2009 titles — with a Mercedes engine.¹

4. The power-unit era & Verstappen

Honda returned again in 2015 as a power-unit maker. The McLaren-Honda reunion (2015–17) was a painful flop, but the move to the Red Bull family transformed it: Toro Rosso in 2018, then Red Bull from 2019. In 2021, Max Verstappen won the title with a Honda power unit — Honda’s first drivers’ championship in 30 years, since Senna in 1991.³

Honda then announced its withdrawal again at the end of 2021 — but kept building and supporting the engines through its racing arm HRC (badged Red Bull Powertrains, then “Honda RBPT”) for several more seasons. Even when officially leaving, it never quite left.³

5. 2026: the Aston Martin works return

Now the cycle turns again — this time as a committed return. From 2026, Honda is a full works power-unit partner with Aston Martin, timed to F1’s new engine regulations (more electrical power, sustainable fuel). It’s a clear step up from the customer-style role it played with Red Bull, and the reason Honda gave for coming back: the new rules align with its own move toward electrification.⁴ Red Bull, meanwhile, moves to its own Red Bull Powertrains project with Ford.