Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Honda

  • Aston Martin announce technical collaboration

    Aston Martin has announced a significant milestone in its preparation for the new 2026 F1 regulations – with a technical collaboration agreement signed by the representatives of the team, Aramco, Honda and Valvoline Global Operations (VGO).

    The dynamic partnership is united in the aim to drive forward the development of the 2026 Formula One car under new FIA regulations for on-track success.

    As part of this strategic partnership, Aramco will deliver advanced fuels, with Honda developing a new works power unit that incorporates a 50/50 spilt between electric and combustion power.

    Additionally, Valvoline will provide leading-edge lubricants for the power-unit and expertise from its 150 years in automotive and industrial solutions. All parties will work together with aim of placing the team at the forefront of performance, reliability and sustainability.

    The partnership’s technical development builds on Aramco’s existing sponsorship agreement with the team, which has enabled close collaboration on a range of technologies that could potentially be deployed in road vehicles – from light-weighting of cars to safety enhancements.

    This milestone marks a significant step forward in our journey towards the 2026 F1 season – with the aim of pushing the limits of what is possible. The collaboration with Aramco, Valvoline Global, and Honda is now moving at pace, and we are on track to achieve our ambitious goals. The joint-efforts in developing advanced fuels and lubricants, along with our new Honda power unit, are set to elevate our on-track performance and we are confident that this partnership will bring substantial success to everyone involved.
    Lawrence Stroll on the news.

    We are incredibly excited about our collaboration with Aston Martin Aramco, Honda Racing Corporation, and Valvoline Global. This partnership not only underscores our work with the team, but also highlights our dedication to developing advanced technologies for use in motorsport and the wider automotive industry.
    Yasser Mufti, Aramco Executive Vice President of Products & Customers.

    Working together with Aston Martin, Valvoline Global, and Aramco is a unique collaborative experience. We are excited to power the Aston Martin Aramco race car into the new era of Formula One regulations and are proud to be part of this unique partnership with four incredible brands.
    Koji Watanabe, President of Honda Racing Corporation.

    Our collaboration with Aston Martin Aramco is a unique opportunity to push the boundaries of what is possible in motorsport. Valvoline’s advanced lubricant technologies are playing a mission-critical role in this partnership, and we are excited to see the results of our combined efforts on the track in 2026.
    Jamal Muashsher, CEO of Valvoline Global.

  • Honda to make full scale F1 return, joining forces with AM

    Japanese manufacturer, Honda will launch a full-scale return to Formula 1 in 2026 as the works power unit supplier to Aston Martin. Honda left F1 at the end of 2021, after a seven-year stay in the sport that culminated in a drivers’ World Championship victory through Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

    They continued their relationship with Red Bull through a power unit support deal, which is still set to run until the end of 2025.

    When F1 first unveiled its new engine regulations for 2026, Honda were enticed by the requirement to use 100% sustainable fuels and the greater focus on electrical power, as it delivered synergies with the automotive company’s goals.

    But with Red Bull pursuing their own path with an in-house power unit devision, aided by their new partner which they announced at their car launch, Ford. Honda then had to look somewhere else – and so they signed a deal with Aston Martin.

    Mercedes who have been a partner of the Silverstone-based team since 2009, will continue to supply Aston Martin with power units, plus the gearbox and rear suspension, until the end of 2025.

    One of the key reasons for our decision to take up the new challenge in F1 is that the world’s pinnacle form of racing is striving to become a sustainable racing series, which is in line with the direction Honda is aiming toward carbon neutrality, and it will become a platform which will facilitate the development of our electrification technologies. 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 for winning will be a compact, lightweight, and high-power electric motor with a high-performance battery capable of handling high and swift power output, as well as the energy management technology. 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. Honda and our new partner, the Aston Martin F1 Team, share the same sincere attitude and determination to win, so starting with the 2026 season, we will work together and strive for the Championship title as Aston Martin Aramco Honda.Honda has the utmost respect for the FIA, which made a bold decision to introduce these new and challenging regulations to ensure the sustainability of both racing activities and the global environment, and for the Formula 1 Group, which has been enhancing the brand value of F1 and ensuring F1’s evolvement as the most prestigious automobile racing in the world.

    Honda CEO, Toshihiro Mibe.

    We share a mutual drive, determination, and relentless ambition to succeed on track. Honda is a global titan and its success in motorsport is longstanding and incredibly impressive.

    Aston Martin owner, Lawerence Stroll.

    The new 2026 F1 power unit regulations are a huge and important change, but one which we are confident we can navigate successfully together. Jointly with our strategic partner Aramco, we can look forward to open collaboration towards a common goal. Our future works partnership with Honda is one of the last parts of the jigsaw puzzle slotting into place for Aston Martin’s ambitious plans in Formula 1. Finally, I would like to pay tribute to our current power unit supplier who we will continue to partner with for the next few seasons.

    Group CEO of Aston Martin Performance Technologies, Martin Whitmarsh.

  • RB and AT to run special livery

    Red Bull and Alpha Tauri are set to run a special livery this weekend at the Turkish Grand Prix as a special tribute to Honda.

    If the Japanese GP was going ahead it would of been this weekend, which means Honda’s last home grand prix, unfortunately due to Covid-19 restrictions means that they will miss out.

    The RB16Bs of both Max and Sergio will run in a predominantly white livery which is inspired by the pain scheme of the Honda RA272 where Richie Ginther raced to victory at the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix.

    Where as Pierre’s and Yuki’s AlphaTauri’s will feature the word ‘arigato’ which is the Japanese word for ‘thank-you’ this is aimed to be on the rear wings of the AT02.

    Red Bull’s partnership with Honda launched back in 2018, since then Honda have helped both Red Bull and AlphaTauri reach the top step of the podium, with Red Bull scoring 13 victories to date and AlphaTauri taking hone a memorable win on home turf in Italy 2020. In total Red Bull and Honda have together scored 35 podium finishes and 11 pole positions.

    Team Principle and CEO of Red Bull Racing Honda, Christian Horner said: “We had all been looking forward to giving Honda’s Japanese fans a chance to celebrate our extremely successful relationship in Formula One, on home soil at Suzuka. With the race falling victim to the pandemic, we just couldn’t let the weekend pass without paying tribute to Honda and its amazing home fans by bringing a little bit of its heritage to Istanbul. The livery chosen for our cars pays homage to Honda’s remarkable F1 journey and hopefully we can give fans another victory in those legendary colours this weekend.”

    My Opinion-

    It’s a lovely gesture from RB and AT however I cant comment too much on what it looks like as all we have is a little teaser video below, but from what I can see it looks good…