Honda opens new Formula 1 site in Great Britain

(Motorsport-Total.com) – Honda is currently active as an engine supplier to Red Bull and Racing Bulls – but this collaboration will end after the 2025 season as Red Bull uses its own powertrain alongside Ford. However, the Japanese will return to Formula 1 as an engine supplier to Aston Martin in 2026. Honda is opening a new site in Great Britain for this purpose.

Additionally, the Japanese Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) has established a new subsidiary called Honda Racing Corporation UK Limited. to lead. “This new company has been established primarily to carry out maintenance and production work on Honda-built F1 Power Units (PUs), while also acting as a logistics company for the European region,” said a press release.

He continued: “The establishment of HRC UK will further improve the efficiency of Honda's PU operations and enhance the partnership with Aston Martin. [F1] Support group. In May 2023, Honda and Aston Martin F1 announced that they would enter into a factory partnership so that Honda will supply its F1 PUs in accordance with the new F1 regulations that will come into force in the 2026 season.”

Honda's new project concept

“A new corporate structure has been established to carry out F1 operations, which is very important,” said HRC chairman Koji Watanabe. “Up until now our operations have been projects that pooled people and money, we disbanded after the project was completed, and iterated. However, we will be responsible for the company's racing activities in the future.”

“As a company, we have a budget that includes spending on future-oriented technology development, such as sustainable carbon-neutral fuels, high-performance engines, batteries and more.”

The new Formula 1 engine regulations, which will apply from the 2026 season, will eliminate the motor-generator unit for thermal power (MGU-H), which should significantly reduce costs. Nevertheless, drive output should total 1,000 hp, half of which comes from the 1.6-liter V6 combustion engine, which is mostly carried over from previous regulations.

The other half comes from the electrical components, the importance of which has increased significantly: the motor-generator unit for kinetic energy, or MGU-K for short, is expected to produce around 350 kilowatts, almost three times more than before.