It's official! Honda to partner Aston Martin F1 - engines will run synthetic fuels 2026 onwards

The cat is out of the bag. Honda has announced plans to enter a ‘works’ partnership with Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One (AMF1) team as its power unit supplier starting in 2026.

This ends weeks of speculation on Honda’s future in F1 after the 2025 season, especially after current partners Red Bull Racing and sister team Alpha Tauri announced their alliance with Ford from 2026 onwards, when new engine regulations take effect.

Moving forward, Honda or more precisely, Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) will supply power units compliant with the new F1 power unit regulation.

The new power units will see a significant increase in the deployment of electrical power and the use of 100 percent sustainable/synthetic fuels supplied by AMF1 Team strategic partner Aramco.

Aramco is the world’s largest company by market capitalization (amounting to USD 2.2 trillion). Besides a strategic partnership with the Aston Martin F1 team, it is also being courted by Geely, and Renault to finalise a deal that will see the Saudi-backed oil giant investing in a company that will develop synthetic fuels and ICE-powerplants. 

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Besides the 100 per cent sustainable fuels, the 2026 regulations require a reduction of engine output while tripling the energy recovery system (ERS) output – from 120 kW currently to 350 kW - which recovers kinetic energy under certain situations such as braking and converts it into electrical energy to power the F1 racecar.

Toshihiro Mibe, Global CEO of Honda said, “Honda is a company that has a history of growing by taking on challenges and winning world-class races. With the new 2026 regulations, the key to winning will be a compact, lightweight, and high-power electric motor with a high-performance battery capable of handling high and swift power output and energy management technology,”

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Mibe added, “We believe that the technologies and know-how gained from this new challenge can potentially be applied directly to our future mass production electric vehicles, such as an electric flagship sports model, and electrification technologies in various areas, including eVTOL which is currently under research and development.”

Starting in 2026, the various parties will compete under the banner of the Aston Martin Aramco Honda F1 team.