Red Bull boss Christian Horner has tipped Aston Martin to rival his team in the 2026 Formula 1 season with the help of Honda power.
2025 marks the final year of Red Bull and Honda’s collaboration, with the duo parting ways at the end of the season, coinciding with regulation changes for F1 power units.
The current hybrid formula is being adapted to remove the MGU-H system, introduce sustainable fuels and feature a greater reliance on electrical power.
Red Bull is tackling these regulations by developing a power unit in-house for the very first time in partnership with Ford.
Honda, meanwhile, is forming a works engine partnership with Aston Martin, commencing in 2026, and Horner knows only too well that the Japanese marque is highly capable.
After a difficult introduction to hybrid F1 engines with McLaren in 2015, Honda joined forces with Toro Rosso in 2018 and later Red Bull in 2019, a partnership which has yielded four Drivers’ and two Constructors’ titles.
“Honda is a great racing organisation,” Horner told media including Motorsport Week in Shanghai.
“We’ve had a wonderful relationship since they obviously stepped away from McLaren and joined with us in 2019.
“We’ve won six World Championships so far together and in excess of 60 races.
“It’s been the most successful Honda relationship in F1.
“I think their passion, their commitment has been outstanding and, of course, their product is very strong.
“They’ll continue that journey with Aston. I’m sure they’ll continue under the new regulations to provide competitive engines.
“We’ll be sad to say sayonara at the end of the year, but we’ll look back on this period with great pride.
“And, of course, the next chapter for us is what’s particularly exciting as we produce our own power unit under our own roof in Milton Keynes in the UK.”
Horner responds to Honda concern over 2026 F1 engine development
Despite the marque’s strong track record, Koji Watanabe, president of Honda Racing Corporation (HRC), candidly admitted to PlanetF1, “Everything is very difficult, but we try our best.”
In response to those remarks, Horner opined, “It is a big challenge, I mean [Honda] disbanded their project and then restarted it again.
“They may well have lost a little bit of time through that, but they’re a very capable company and they’ve got great strength,” he continued.
“I am sure they’ll have a competitive power unit come 2026.”
Aston Martin ‘very impressed’ by Honda
Aston Martin has already begun work with Honda as the duo prepares the elements for the Silverstone-based squad’s 2026 F1 Challenger.
Team Principal Andy Cowell praised Honda during pre-season testing.
“Honda is hugely capable when we look at the number of wins they’ve had, the number of championships they’ve won in the last few years,” Cowell told media including Motorsport Week.
“The Honda powertrain has won more than the Mercedes powertrain in the last few years, and so hats off to them.
“I’ve visited [the Honda] factory.
“I’m nothing but impressed with the group of people there, their ambition, their creativity, their push, their sense of humour, the facilities they’ve got.
“It’s very, very impressive.”
Red Bull, meanwhile, is pressing ahead with the creation of its first-ever in-house power unit, with the help of Ford.
Horner is relishing the challenge.
“You always want more time, but it is a big challenge for us, producing our own engine from scratch, a start-up company, but we’re doing well,” he said.
“Of course, you never know what your opponents are doing, it is a big challenge, but for us, it is the right move.”
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