Honda opens new UK base ahead of its corporation with Aston Martin

Honda has announced that it has established a new Formula One base in the UK as it gears up its preparation for the switch from Red Bull to Aston Martin.

Honda and Red Bull have established a strong relationship over the past years after Max Verstappen secured his first championship title with a Honda-powered F1 car. However, the Japanese engine manufacturer took a surprising decision in 2020 as it elected to leave the sport.

As a result, Red Bull have established its own power unit facility at its Milton Keynes-based campus, and have already started to build their own power unit for the new era that takes effect in 2026. The Red Bull Powertrains company has signed a raft of engineers from rivals teams, mainly from Mercedes's engine department. Red Bull have already immersed themselves in designing their first power unit in corporation with new parter Ford.

In the meantime, Honda have backtracked their plans and decided to stay in Formula One as the sport embarks on a key technical change in terms of power units in 2026. With Red Bull establishing a new partnership with the American giant Ford, the Japanese engine manufacturer committed itself with Aston Martin which will end a long-standing partnership with Mercedes-Benz.

Honda have now confirmed that they will establish a new UK base:"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."

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.