Honda has resumed work at its European base in Milton Keynes and taken over its former factory from Red Bull.
Engine manufacturer Honda has resumed work at its European base in Milton Keynes. As the Japanese announced on Tuesday, the British division of Honda Racing Corporation (HRC UK) will resume work at its factory in the UK in 2025.
This can be seen as an anticipation of the new factory partnership with Aston Martin, which Honda will enter into from next season. So far, the development of the new Formula 1 engine from 2026 has been carried out from the Japanese base in Sakura with the support of the California-based company HRC US.
In the future, the UK base will be primarily responsible for the maintenance and operation of the power units. The proximity to the Aston Martin plant in Silverstone should contribute to efficient processes. In addition, HRC UK will take over operational tasks in the 2025 season, in which Honda supplies the power units for Red Bull and Racing Bulls in a total of four cars.
Honda established the new subsidiary in February 2024 and began recruiting employees, who have now started work in 2025.
◤欧州拠点HRC UKが稼働開始◢
Honda F1前線基地が動き出しました。
The location is Milton Keynes, England, which was Honda’s European F1 base until the end of the 2020 season.This season, HRC will be competing against Red Bull… pic.twitter.com/DZdjnbDCI7
— Honda Racing(HRC) (@HondaJP_Live) March 4, 2025
As a location, they are using the same factory that Honda has been using in Formula 1 since 2019. After Honda’s withdrawal from Formula 1 after the 2021 season, the facility was used by Red Bull’s newly founded engine division, Red Bull Powertrains, which still has a technical partnership with Honda.
Despite the withdrawal, employees of the Japanese company still looked after the engines, which are still in the car today with Honda technology at Red Bull. However, Honda has since re-taken over the factory for its own purposes.
In 2026, Honda will become the de facto works team of Aston Martin. The Silverstone-based team will be exclusively supplied with engines from the manufacturer.
