Honda deliver major team update as leadership change announced

Honda Racing Corporation has announced that it will have a new CEO in place next year following the retirement of Koji Watanabe.

Watanabe, who took up the post in 2022, will step down at the end of the year and be replaced by Keiichi Yasuda.

Yasuda currently serves as the executive vice president and representative director at (HRC) and has been part of the Honda company since the early 1990s.

"I consider it my mission to firmly inherit the solid foundation built by Watanabe,” Yasuda said. 

“Evolve it further, unite everyone's vector toward the single goal of winning in races, and make HRC even stronger. 

Leveraging my management experience as president of overseas local entities and my background in HR, I will focus on investing in people and strengthening our organisation toward victory. 

“I will devote myself to building an HRC whose challenges resonate with our stakeholders and motorsport fans, so that we can share the emotion of victory together."

Honda returned to F1 this year as a power unit supplier for Aston Martin, but has struggled for form at the start of the new cycle of technical regulations.

Honda explained that “while such appointments typically take effect on April 1 in Japan, the effective date was set to January 1 this time to align with the seasonality of motorsport and to take on the 2027 season under the new structure right from the beginning.”

Addressing his decision to step away, Watanabe stated: "It is my honor serving as a president of HRC with the wonderful colleagues. 

“I embarked on the project to integrate automobile racing development into HRC, as I became responsible for the operation and communication of motorsports as Honda's Chief Officer for Brand and Communication Operations in 2020. HRC previously was a motorcycle racing company, and I integrated automobile racing into it. 

“In 2022, I assumed the post of President of the new HRC, unifying both motorcycle and automobile motorsport activities. Since then, we decided on our return to F1, expanded our global motorsport structure by reorganizing HPD in the U.S. into HRC US and establishing HRC UK, and worked on building HRC's global brand.

“For the remaining three months of my presidency, I will continue to do my utmost, aiming for victory until the very end."