Having claimed two wins as a works team in the 1960s, Honda’s tally was boosted to an enormous 71 thanks to their engine supply successes from 1984 to 1992, sitting alongside five drivers’ championships and six constructors’ championships. Indeed, a whopping 44 wins were achieved from 1988 to 1992, with McLaren and the MP4/4 almost going unbeaten in that first season by standing on the top step at 15 of the 16 rounds – toppled only at Monza when Alain Prost hit technical trouble and Senna got caught up in an incident with the Williams of backmarker Jean-Louis Schlesser.Īfter Senna’s third and final championship triumph in 1991, the active suspension Williams FW14B proved to be the class of the field throughout the following season, and Honda’s last win from this period in their history came at the 1992 finale in Adelaide with Gerhard Berger. READ MORE: Prost vs Senna, Mansell vs Piquet and more – F1’s fiercest team mate rivalries However, that Senna/Honda pairing would reach a new level when the manufacturer linked up with McLaren ahead of the 1988 campaign, with chassis and engine combining to devastating effect over a five-year period that yielded all three of the Brazilian’s F1 world titles. The Honda/Williams supply arrangement crossed paths with a separate deal for Lotus, which covered the 19 seasons, bringing two more victories via Ayrton Senna. In total, Williams and Honda won 23 races together, while clinching the 19 constructors’ titles, as well as the 1987 drivers’ crown with Nelson Piquet. ![]() ![]() ![]() Then, just nine races into the partnership, the breakthrough win came at the Dallas Grand Prix, also with the Finn at the wheel. It was more than a decade before Honda appeared in F1 again, their name returning to the grid from 1983 as an engine supplier for Spirit, before embarking on a partnership with another British team in Williams, which kicked off at that year’s final round.Īs the 1984 season began, there was promise from the outset, with the Honda-powered FW09 of Keke Rosberg finishing second at the Brazil opener, before racking up several more solid points finishes. The best was yet to come at that year’s finale in Mexico, where Ginther took advantage of retirements for the season’s top three contenders – Jim Clark, Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart – to emerge victorious ahead of Dan Gurney, with Bucknum adding to the celebrations in fifth.Ī couple of years later, and with the Ginther/Bucknum combination replaced, new arrival John Surtees added another victory to Honda’s tally by pipping Jack Brabham to the finish line at the 1967 Italian Grand Prix aboard the overhauled, Lola-designed RA300.ĪNALYSIS: How and why Honda and Aston Martin got together for 2026īut that would be the high point for Honda from their initial spell in the sport, with the company’s first withdrawal coming at the end of the 1968 season, during which Jo Schlesser died at the wheel of the newly-introduced RA302 in the French Grand Prix. Just three rounds into the season, and during Honda’s second outing of the campaign, Ginther converted a highly respectable fourth on the grid into sixth position on race day, a result he repeated in the Netherlands – marking the operation’s maiden F1 points finishes. It was an inauspicious start to life for the RA271, with Bucknum running towards the back during qualifying at the fearsome Nurburgring circuit, before a more encouraging performance in the race came undone through a crash at the Karussell, while respective brake and engine issues arose at Monza and Watkins Glen.īut for 1965, Honda introduced an improved RA272 package, featuring a lighter chassis and a more efficient V12 RA272E engine, while proven podium finisher Richie Ginther joined Bucknum in the manufacturer’s line-up to give them an extra car to work with. READ MORE: Honda to make full-scale F1 return in 2026 as they join forces with Aston Martin Honda’s F1 journey began all the way back in the 1960s, the company setting up a works squad and initially fielding just one car for American racer Ronnie Bucknum at selected rounds of the 1964 season – specifically the German, Italian and United States Grands Prix (a planned entry in Belgium being missed). As the dust settles on the breaking news, we thought it would be the ideal moment to look back at Honda’s various stints in F1, which have included victories as a full factory team as well as providing engines for some of the sport’s most famous names en route to championship glory. On Wednesday, it was announced that Honda will partner with Aston Martin and power the manufacturer’s F1 team when new engine regulations come into play in 2026.
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