Honda reaches its 500th Formula 1 race in Austin and pledges to stay the course
Honda marked its 500th Formula 1 race at the United States Grand Prix, with a commemorative logo on Aston Martin's AMR26. HRC president Koji Watanabe said the company will keep taking on the challenge of the sport, despite a 2026 comeback season that has yielded just seven points.
A milestone in Austin
It is a big number for a season that has not gone to plan. At the United States Grand Prix, Honda reached its 500th Formula 1 race, counted by entries in which the engine or power unit was officially registered as a Honda. In Honda's own announcement, published on 20 October, the company said the figure had been made possible by the support of fans and the partners who competed alongside it.
To mark the occasion, Aston Martin's AMR26 cars raced with a special Honda500 logo, and the Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) engineers at the circuit wore uniforms carrying the same emblem. Honda also launched a website tracing its history and a commemorative video, and put limited merchandise on sale in Japan.
Watanabe: the challenge goes on
According to GPFans, HRC president Koji Watanabe thanked fans, partners and drivers past and present, and said Honda and HRC "will continue to take on the challenge of F1". He also named Aston Martin as the team with which Honda is now taking on a new challenge.
The pledge arrives at a sensitive moment. GPFans reports that Watanabe will retire on 1 January 2027, with Keiichi Yasuda taking over as president and CEO. The report notes that the effect on Honda's Formula 1 plans is unclear.
Five decades, one difficult comeback
Honda's first race was the 1964 German Grand Prix. Its own milestone table lists the 100th start at the 1987 Austrian Grand Prix, the 300th at the 2006 German Grand Prix and the 450th at the 2020 Belgian Grand Prix. Over the years it has been a full factory team, an engine supplier and a power unit manufacturer. Since this season it has been a works partner of Aston Martin, supplying the RA626H power unit.
What our data shows
The 500th race comes in a tough year for the partnership. Through 18 rounds, Aston Martin has scored points in just three races, for seven points in total, and its best finish is eighth place. Its two cars have started 36 races between them. Lance Stroll said before Austin that the power unit costs the team about a second per lap, according to GPFans, and the report places Aston Martin tenth in the constructors' standings.
Five rounds remain, starting with the Mexico City Grand Prix on 1 November. The team's technical leader Adrian Newey has said he expects Honda to "accelerate quickly" with its 2027 projects, as we reported earlier.
