Koji Watanabe, the president of the Honda Racing Corporation, has revealed that Honda were approached by “several teams” before striking a deal to partner Aston Martin from F1 2026.

The F1 2025 season marks the last year of Honda’s technical partnership with Red Bull, with the pair dominating Formula 1 over recent years.

Honda approached by ‘several teams’ before Aston Martin deal

Honda have powered Max Verstappen to the Drivers’ title in each of the last four seasons, with Red Bull’s Honda-powered RB19 statistically the greatest car in the sport’s history having won 21 of a possible 22 races in 2023.

Despite officially withdrawing from F1 at the end of Verstappen’s maiden title-winning season in 2021, Honda have continued to provide technical support to Red Bull over recent years.

Honda will join forces with Aston Martin from F1 2026, when the sport’s new rules – including a move to 50 per cent electrification, fully sustainable fuel and active aerodynamics – are introduced.

Honda: From McLaren disappointment to Red Bull glory

👉 Honda: From GP2 engine to powering a World Champion

👉 From ‘GP2 engine’ to ‘karma’ – 10 of our favourite Fernando Alonso team radio messages

Red Bull, meanwhile, will link up with Ford via their newly established Powertrains engine division.

In an exclusive interview with PlanetF1.com at the end of last season, team principal Christian Horner described Red Bull’s new engine program as “the biggest challenge” the team have faced since arriving on the grid two decades ago.

Mr Watanabe has revealed that a number of teams approached Honda after the manufacturer signalled their intention to return in F1 2026 before deciding on Aston Martin as their new technical partner.

He told Motorsport.com: “In the first part of the process there were only conversations between Honda and Red Bull.

“The discussions with other teams started after we officially registered ourselves with the FIA as a power unit supplier for 2026. That was in November 2022.

“Then some other teams contacted us, as they were interested in working with Honda. We talked to those parties and made a decision.”

Asked to reveal how many teams were interested in a deal with Honda, Watanabe replied: “I cannot give you the exact number, but several teams.

“With some of those we’ve only had contact once and some others we’ve met several times.”

More on Red Bull and Aston Martin

👉 Red Bull news

👉 Aston Martin news

Mr Watanabe’s latest comments come after he told media including PlanetF1.com at the recent Daytona 24-hour race that Honda are “struggling” with the demands of the F1 2026 engine regulations.

He said: “We are struggling. Now we are trying our best to show the result next year.

“Everything is new. The motor is a new 355-kW, very compact one we need. Also the lightweight battery, it’s not so easy to develop. And also the small engine with the big power.

“Everything is very difficult, but we try our best.”

It is unclear if Mr Watanabe, who was speaking in a second language, was referring specifically to Honda’s progress ahead of F1’s new era or was making a general comment on the challenges of the new rules for F1’s engine manufacturers.

Horner dismissed fears that Honda are behind their rival manufacturers on F1 2026 engine development, insisting that the Japanese manufacturer will deliver a “competitive” power unit for Aston Martin.

However, he suggested that Honda’s U-turn may have compromised the team’s preparations for F1 2026.

Horner said: “It is a big challenge.

“They disbanded their project and then restarted it again. They may well have lost a little bit of time through that.

“But they’re a very capable company and they’ve got great strength.

“I am sure they’ll have a competitive power unit come 2026.”

Read next: ‘The beginning of the end’ – Red Bull alarm raised with moment ‘everything changed’