Honda's Two Spells as a Constructor

The Japanese manufacturer raced its own cars in the 1960s and again from 2006 to 2008, winning three Grands Prix, with its greatest success coming as an engine supplier.

Honda entered Formula One in 1964 with its own car and its own engine, run by Honda R&D, and made its debut at the 1964 German Grand Prix. The team was first run from Tokyo, then from Amsterdam and later Slough. Its first victory came quickly, when Richie Ginther won the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix, the last race of the 1.5 liter era.

John Surtees joined in 1967 and won that year's Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Honda withdrew at the end of 1968, after its driver Jo Schlesser was killed in a crash at Rouen and as the company faced difficulty selling road cars in the United States.

The company returned in 1983 as an engine maker, and its engines powered Williams and McLaren to every constructors' championship from 1986 to 1991. It came back again in 2000 to supply British American Racing, and by the end of 2005 Honda had bought that team outright. Racing as Honda from Brackley in England, with Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello, it won once more when Button took the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix.

The next two seasons were difficult, and in December 2008 Honda announced it was leaving Formula One at once, citing the financial crisis. The team became Brawn GP and, later, Mercedes. Across its two spells as a constructor, Honda started 88 World Championship races and won three. It has since returned as an engine supplier, powering Red Bull to titles and, in 2026, Aston Martin.

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