Aston Martin Honda deal shows F1 ‘struck precisely the right balance’
Mohammed Ben Sulayem says the Aston Martin Honda deal is evidence F1 has the right balance for the future
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has heralded the deal between Aston Martin and Honda as evidence F1 has “struck precisely the right balance.”
Aston Martin and Honda today announced they will work together from the 2026 Formula 1 season.
The deal will make Aston Martin the Japanese marque’s ‘works’ team.
Honda had committed to the sport for the next generation of power unit regulations, starting in 2026, with increase electrical power from around 20 percent to 50 while also switching to fully sustainable fuels.
The link with Aston Martin comes after Honda had initially elected to withdraw from F1 at the end of 2021, prompting Red Bull to embark on developing its own power unit – a project it is now collaborating on with Ford.
As a result, Honda needed a new team to partner with.
“The continued interest from global automotive giants such as Honda shows once again that the 2026 Power Unit Regulations set out by the FIA in collaboration with FOM and the incumbent PU manufacturers struck precisely the right balance to ensure that the FIA Formula 1 World Championship remains at the forefront of technological innovation, sustainability and competition,” said Ben Sulayem of the Aston Martin-Honda deal.
“As we announced earlier in the year, no fewer than six of these industry leaders have registered their participation for the 2026-2030 regulations cycle – Alpine, Audi, Ferrari, Honda, Mercedes and Red Bull Ford – and I am very pleased that Honda has committed to return to the grid with the Aston Martin team.”
Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s comments echo those of F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, who said the deal was “further evidence that our global platform and growth provides brands with huge potential, and it also shows that our plans to move to sustainable fuels in 2026 is the right approach to offer the automotive world alternative solutions to decarbonise the planet.”
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