TOKYO, Aug 2, 2024 - (JCN Newswire) - In commemoration of the 60th anniversary since Honda’s first participation in the FIA* Formula One World Championship (F1), which began on August 2, 1964, Honda today launched the “Honda Motorsports Website,” a new website that introduces a comprehensive overview of Honda motorsports history and current activities.
In addition, Honda began a limited-time exhibit of the RA271, the first Honda F1 machine which made its debut in 1964, at Honda Welcome Plaza Aoyama (Welcome Plaza) in Tokyo, Japan. It also will conduct a demonstration run of the RA272, the machine that brought Honda its first ever F1 win in 1965, the second year of Honda participation in F1, at Monterey Car Week 2024, which will be held this month in the U.S.
Honda Motorsports Website
Honda created and launched a new website through which Honda will continuously share stories and information about the starting point and history of Honda motorsports activities as well as information on current and future activities and events. During this year and next year, the 60th anniversary of Honda participation in F1 and its first F1 win, respectively, the website will focus mainly on sharing F1-related content, and then will continue to broaden the content in the future. The website includes rare video footage, such as footage from the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix digitized from film, as well as videos and event reports from the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2024, a motorsports event held in the U.K. last month.
Honda Motorsports Website URL: https://global.honda/en/motorsports/
* Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile
Exhibit of the RA271 and Demonstration Run of the RA272
The RA271, the F1 machine with which Honda made its F1 debut in 1964, will be exhibited for a limited time from August 2 through August 20, 2024 at the Welcome Plaza in Tokyo. Powered by a 1500cc V12 engine which generated 220 horsepower, the most powerful of all Grand Prix engines at the time, the RA271 competed in three Grand Prix races in 1964, in Germany, the U.S. and Italy.
A demonstration run of the RA272, which brought about the first F1 race win for Honda, will take place on August 17, 2024, at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, an event held during Monterey Car Week 2024 in California, U.S. The RA272 to be used in this demonstration run is the actual machine Paul Richard "Richie" Ginther drove to take Honda’s first F1 Grand Prix victory in the Mexican Grand Prix in 1965. The machine has been preserved in driving condition at Honda Collection Hall in Tochigi, Japan.
Prior to this, current F1 driver Yuki Tsunoda took the RA272 for a demonstration run at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2024, a motorsports event held last month in the U.K.
60-year History of Honda F1 Participation
First Era (1964 – 1968)
In August 1964, only a year after launching its first automobile product, Honda made its debut in F1, the world’s most prestigious automobile race series, at the German Grand Prix. It was viewed as a daring challenge; however, in 1965, only the second year of its F1 participation, Honda captured its first victory in the final race of the season, the Mexican Grand Prix, with an original Honda-made machine, including the engine and chassis. Honda participated in F1 based on its belief that racing is the perfect training ground for developing engineers because motorsports require extremely rapid development compared to mass production models, and the superiority of the technology becomes evident to everyone through race results.
Second Era (1983 – 1992)
Honda withdrew from F1 racing after the 1968 season in order to focus on the development of low emission production vehicles. After a 15-year hiatus, in 1983, Honda resumed its F1 activities. After earning its first victory in the second era in 1984, the year following its return, Honda won the Constructors’ Championship in 1986, clinching both the drivers’ and constructors’ titles in 1987. In 1988, Honda won 11 consecutive races from the start of the season and won 15 of 16 races for the year. Honda marked the monumental achievement of winning 69 races in total and capturing double titles for five consecutive years during the 10-year period before concluding its second era of F1 activities in 1992.
Third Era (2000 – 2008)
After an eight-year hiatus since its withdrawal in 1992, Honda returned to F1 in 2000 with a new form of F1 participation for Honda with an engine supply and joint chassis development contract with BAR (British American Racing). The team finished the 2004 season in second place in the constructor’s ranking. In 2006, the team began competing as the Honda Racing F1 Team under the sole ownership of Honda, and captured a long-awaited first victory since its return, at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the 13th round of the season.
Fourth Era (2015 – 2021)
In 2015, Honda took on another F1 racing challenge in partnership with McLaren. After struggling for three years without a win, Honda formed new partnerships with Scuderia Toro Rosso and Red Bull Racing in 2018 and 2019, respectively, and captured its first win in 13 years, in the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix. In 2021, Max Verstappen finally won the Drivers’ Championship. It was a glorious achievement attained by fully incorporating the knowledge and technology of Honda development and production divisions and demonstrating the collective strengths of Honda. At the end of the 2021 season, Honda concluded its participation in F1. From 2022 onward, Honda has been providing technical support as a team partner to Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri (now Visa Cash App RB F1 Team).
Fifth Era (2026 –)
In the 2026 season, Honda will resume participation in F1 and supply power units to the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One® Team. Starting from the 2026 season, F1 power units are required to run on 100% sustainable fuel, with the maximum power output roughly even between the engine and electric motor. Honda decided to return to F1 based on the belief that the new F1 regulations align with the technological direction Honda is taking toward its global goal of carbon neutrality, and that returning to F1 racing will have great significance in terms of the development of future technologies toward the realization of carbon neutrality.
Key milestones in Honda F1 Participation
1964 – 1968
Participated as an all-Honda team, independently developing both the engine and chassis
1965
Captured the first Honda F1 victory in the Mexican Gran Prix
1983 – 1992
Participated as an F1 engine supplier
1986
Won the F1 Constructors’ Championship as Williams Honda
1987
Won both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship titles
1988 – 1991
Won both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship titles for four consecutive years as McLaren Honda
2000 – 2005
Participated with an engine supply and joint chassis development contract with BAR (British American Racing)
2006 – 2008
Participated as an all-Honda team, independently developing both the engine and chassis
2015 – 2017
Participated as an F1 power unit supplier, supplying power units to McLaren
2018
Began supplying power units to Scuderia Toro Rosso
2019
Began supplying power units to Red Bull Racing
2021
Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen won the Drivers’ Championship
Honda concluded its formal F1 participation
2022
HRC began providing technical support to Red Bull Powertrains
Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen won the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championship titles
2023
Honda announced its participation as a power unit supplier in F1 starting the 2026 season
Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen won the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championship for the second consecutive season