Honda set up base in UK to prepare for Aston Martin collaboration

After years of success as Red Bull Racing's engine supplier, Honda will supply engines for Aston Martin from 2026. Ahead of this partnership, the carmaker has announced that it will have a facility in the UK.

The Japanese carmaker has been supplying the engines for Red Bull Racing's team for quite some time. The deal was due to end at the end of 2021, but it was still extended until the end of 2025. From then on, Red Bull will design their own engine from Red Bull Powertrains in partnership with Ford.

From 2026, Honda will supply the engines for Aston Martin's team. Currently, that team is still running an engine from Mercedes. Lawrence Stroll's team has big ambitions to become the fastest, and their upcoming engine supplier seems to share those ambitions.

In the run-up to their partnership with Aston Martin, Honda will have a base in the UK. Currently, all engines are still made in Japan, but that is about to change with the first factory in Europe. To bring about this location, Honda Racing Corporation has set up a new subsidiary, Honda Racing Corporation UK Ltd.

In a statement, Honda reported the following: "This new company has been founded to primarily perform post-race maintenance and preparation tasks on the Honda built F1 power units (PUs), whilst also operating as a logistics operation for the European region. The establishment of HRC UK will further enhance the effectiveness of Honda’s PU operations, in support of the partnership with Aston Martin Aramco Formula One® Team. In May 2023, Honda and Aston Martin F1 jointly announced they will enter into works partnership so that Honda will supply its F1 PUs compliant with the new F1 regulations which will take effect in the 2026 season. Following the establishment of the new company in the UK, HRC will start the recruitment of engineers, technicians and staff members for the new company from Spring 2024."