FIA, F1 action vindicated by Honda return

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has hailed Honda's official return to F1 from 2026 as evidence that the sport is moving in the right direction with its future power unit regulations.

It was announced earlier on Wednesday that Honda would team up with Aston Martin from that year onwards, with the Silverstone team becoming Honda's de facto works outfit.

F1 is to overhaul its power unit regulations in 2026, placing a greater emphasis on electric power and sustainable fuels as part of a wider push to become carbon neutral by 2030.

Also coming in are a ban on expensive manufacturing materials and systems such as the complex and unloved MGU-H, in a bid to keep costs down.

Though Honda officially pulled out of F1 at the end of 2021, the Japanese marque still manufactures and supplies engines to Red Bull and sister team AlphaTauri, and Honda's official return means that six major manufacturers will be represented in F1 from 2026.

Ben Sulayem: F1 remains at the forefront of innovation

"The continued interest from global automotive giants such Honda shows once again that the 2026 Power Unit Regulations set out by the FIA in collaboration with FOM and the incumbent PU manufacturers struck precisely the right balance to ensure that the Formula 1 World Championship remains at the forefront of technological innovation, sustainability and competition," said Ben Sulayem.

"As we announced earlier in the year, no fewer than six of these industry leaders have registered their participation for the 2026-2030 regulations cycle – Alpine, Audi, Ferrari, Honda, Mercedes and Red Bull Ford – and I am very pleased that Honda has committed to return to the grid with the Aston Martin team."

Audi are also set to join F1 in 2026, and earlier in the year, Ben Sulayem hailed the German manufacturer's decision to join as evidence of how positively the sport's new power unit regulations had been received.