Honda was a former Formula One constructor who competed from 1964 to 1968 and again from 2006 to 2008. Since 2015, they returned to the sport as an engine supplier, currently supplying Red Bull and Alpha Tauri. They were initially going to supply Sauber for 2018,[1][2] but the Sauber team abandoned those plans on 27 July 2017.[3] On 15 September 2017, Honda and McLaren announced their plans to split at the end of the 2017 season,[4] but that Honda will still play a part in 2018, supplying engines to Toro Rosso.[5] Honda has announced that they will pull out of F1 after the 2021 season.
History[]
Honda were set to make their début at the 1964 Belgian Grand Prix, but the team's car, the Honda RA271, was not ready to make it in time. The car eventually went ready for the 1964 German Grand Prix, with Ronnie Bucknum entering it. He finished 13th in the first race for Honda.
At the end of 1968, Honda withdrew from the sport due to the fatal crash of Jo Schlesser at the 1968 French Grand Prix.
Honda returned to F1 in 1983 as an engine supplier for the Spirit Racing team. The RA163E turbo engine was unreliable, retiring from three races. At the end of the season at the 1983 South African Grand Prix, the Williams team supplied Honda engines. Keke Rosberg finished fifth, meanwhile Jacques Laffite retired after spinning off.
Honda supplied Williams from 1984 to 1987, Lotus from 1987 to 1988 and McLaren from 1988 to 1992, winning a total of six constructor titles.
Honda dropped out from the sport again at the end of 1992.
In 1998, Honda announced their return to Formula One after 5 years of absence. Honda considered an entry as a constructor on their return, but the project was abandoned in 1999 following the death of Harvey Postlethwaite.
Honda returned as an engine supplier in 2000, supplying the BAR team. The following year, they supplied Jordan until 2002. Honda decided that they want to focus on their partnership with BAR from 2003 to 2005, until Honda completely took over the team in 2006.
Logo used from 2006 to 2008.
Due to the global economic crisis, Honda quit from Formula One at the end of the 2008 season, and the team was sold and formed as Brawn GP.
In 2013, Honda announced that they will return to Formula One, and they also announced that from 2015 they will supply McLaren. The 2015 season was a miserable year for the team, as the RA615H engine was very slow and unreliable compared to all other teams, leaving them ninth in the Constructors' Championship.
The 2016 season was a major improvement for the team, with the RA616H engine being far better than its predecessor. But again in 2017 the Honda engine was again slow and unreliable as it was in 2015.
Key Personnel[]
Team Principals[]
- Soichiro Honda (1964–1968)
- Gil de Ferran (2006–2007)
- Ross Brawn (2008)
Technical Directors[]
- Yoshio Nakumara (1964–1968)
- Shoichi Sano (1964–1968)
- Geoff Willis (2006)
- Shuhei Nakamoto (2006–2008)
CEO[]
- Nick Fry (2006–2008)
Chief Aerodynamicist[]
- Geoff Willis (2006)
- Loïc Bigois (2007–2008)
Entrant Names[]
| Years | Name |
|---|---|
| 1964–1966 | Honda R&D Company |
| 1967–1968 | Honda Racing |
| 1968 | Honda France* |
| 2006 | Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team |
| 2007–2008 | Honda Racing F1 Team |
- * Used by Jo Schlesser in the 1968 French Grand Prix.
Formula One Record[]
As Constructor[]
As Works[]
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Tyre | No. | Drivers | Rounds | WCC Points | WCC Pos. | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | RA271 | RA271E 1.5 V12 | D |  Ronnie Bucknum
|
6, 8–9 | 0 | — | Report | |
| 1965 | RA272 | RA272E 1.5 V12 | G | Ronnie Bucknum
|
2–4, 8–10 | 11 | 6th | Report | |
| Richie Ginther
|
2–6, 8–10 | ||||||||
| 1966 | RA273 | RA273E 3.0 V12 | G | Richie Ginther
|
7–9 | 3 | 8th | Report | |
| Ronnie Bucknum
|
8–9 | ||||||||
| 1967 | RA273 RA300 |
RA273E 3.0 V12 | F |  John Surtees
|
1–4, 6–7, 9–11 | 20 | 4th | Report | |
| 1968 | RA300 RA301 RA302 |
RA273E 3.0 V12 RA301E 3.0 V12 RA302E 3.0 V8 |
F | John Surtees
|
All | 14 | 6th | Report | |
 Jo Schlesser
|
6 | ||||||||
| David Hobbs
|
9 | ||||||||
| 1969–2005: Did not compete | |||||||||
| 2006 | RA106 | RA806E 2.4 V8 | M | 11 |  Rubens Barrichello
|
All | 86 | 4th | Report |
| 12 | Jenson Button
|
All | |||||||
| 2007 | RA107 | RA807E 2.4 V8 | B | 7 | Jenson Button
|
All | 6 | 8th | Report |
| 8 | Rubens Barrichello
|
All | |||||||
| 2008 | RA108 | RA808E 2.4 V8 | B | 16 | Jenson Button
|
All | 14 | 9th | Report |
| 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[]
Honda[]
Honda RBPT[]
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | Tyre | No. | Drivers | Rounds | WCC Points | WCC Pos. | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 |  Scuderia AlphaTauri
|
AlphaTauri AT04 | Honda RBPTH001 1.6L V6t |
P | 22 |  Yuki Tsunoda
|
1–18 | 25 | 8th | Report |
| 21 |  Nyck de Vries
|
1–11 | ||||||||
| 3 |  Daniel Ricciardo
|
12–14, 19-18 | ||||||||
| 40 |  Liam Lawson
|
14–18 | ||||||||
 Oracle Red Bull Racing
|
Red Bull RB19 | 1 | Max Verstappen
|
1–18 | 860 | 1st | Report | |||
| 11 |  Sergio Pérez
|
1–18 | ||||||||
| 2024 | Racing Bulls
|
RB VCARB01 | Honda RBPTH002 1.6L V6t |
22 | Yuki Tsunoda
|
1–18 | 34 | 6th | Report | |
| 3 | Daniel Ricciardo
|
1–18 | ||||||||
| Oracle Red Bull Racing
|
Red Bull RB20 | 1 | Max Verstappen
|
1–18 | 475 | 2nd | Report | |||
| 11 | Sergio Pérez
|
1–18 |
Wins[]
To see full list of wins, see Honda/Wins.
Complete Formula One Results[]
- Main article: Honda/Results
Notes[]
- ↑ Galloway, James (30 April 2017). "Honda to power Sauber with engines in 2018 F1 season". Sky Sports F1. http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/10855471/honda-to-power-sauber-with-engines-in-2018-f1-season. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
- ↑ "Honda and Sauber F1 Team to join forces from 2018 onwards". 30 April 2017. https://www.sauberf1team.com/news/honda-and-sauber-f1-team-to-join-forces-from-2018-onwards. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
- ↑ "The planned technological partnership between the Sauber F1 Team and Honda is cancelled". Sauber F1 Team. https://www.sauberf1team.com/news/the-planned-technological-partnership-between-the-sauber-f1-team-and-honda-is-cancelled. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
- ↑ "McLaren-Honda split after three years of troubled partnership". BBC Sport. 15 September 2017. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/41248320. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ↑ "Toro Rosso secures multi-year Honda deal". 15 September 2017. http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/358357/toro-rosso-confirms-multi-year-honda-deal/. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
Quotes[]
"The latest Marlboro McLaren-Honda V10 is probably the most powerful car on the track. But a V12 engine is on the way, still definately the team to beat." - Andrew Marriott. Eurosport. 1990 San Marino Grand Prix Build-Up.
| V T E |  
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personnel Yoshio Nakamura · Nobuhiko Kawamoto · Yoshitoshi Sakurai · Osamu Goto · Takeo Kiuchi · Ross Brawn · Nick Fry · Toyoharu Tanabe · Masashi Yamamoto · Yasuaki Asaki | |||
| Drivers Ronnie Bucknum · Richie Ginther · John Surtees · Jo Schlesser · Jenson Button · Rubens Barrichello
| |||
| World Champions (as engine manufacturer) Nelson Piquet (1987) · Ayrton Senna (1988, 1990, 1991) · Alain Prost (1989)
| |||
| Constructors (as engine manufacturer) Spirit (1983) · Williams (1983–1987) · Lotus (1987–1988) · McLaren (1988–1992, 2015–2017) · Tyrrell (1991) · BAR (2000–2005) · Jordan (2001–2002) · Super Aguri (2006–2008) · Toro Rosso (2018–2019) · Red Bull (2019–2021) · AlphaTauri (2020–2021) | |||
| Constructors (as Honda RBPT engines) Red Bull (2023–present) · AlphaTauri (2023–present) | |||
| Cars RA271 · RA272 · RA273 · RA300 · RA301 · RA302 · RA099 · RA106 · RA107 · RA108 · RA109K | |||
| Results Constructor · Engine | |||
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