Even though the 2025 IndyCar season is not yet complete, Honda has been awarded the manufacturers’ championship.

In America’s top open wheel series, cars are powered by one of two engines. Honda and Chevrolet compete against each other to supply the best and most reliable engines to their customers on the grid.

With nearly equal numbers of competitors fitting each engine to the back of their cars, the battle can be quite intense between the two to secure bragging rights.

Helped by Alex Palou’s dominance, Honda has now secured its 11th manufacturers’ championship, and its fifth in the past eight years.

“We have the privilege of sitting here, but we’re just representing the hard work of an amazing group of men and women,” said SRC President David Salters.

“So ‘Thank you’ is the theme. To watch people achieve what they achieved through being smart and working hard is the greatest privilege we can have.

“What do we think? How do we respond? It’s ‘Thank you’ to all our men and women, teams men and women, everybody.

“A racing car is a sum of the parts,” continued Salters, addressing Palou’s dominance in recent years.

“It’s never one thing. It’s a collection of everything, in my experience. I’ve only been doing it for 30 years, so I’m still learning a lot.

“It’s the sum of the parts. I think between the efforts we’ve put into it, we weren’t happy where we were last year, so we worked really, really hard over the winter.

“CGR is performing at huge heights. All the boys and girls, HRC we’ve stepped up to huge heights.

“Alex Palou, we are witnessing a generational talent. But then Kyle, another huge talent. Scott Dixon is still Scott Dixon. So it’s all these things that go together.”

Honda has secured 12 wins out of 16 events so far this year, most coming at the hands of Palou.

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Luca Marini is impressed with the “remarkable strides” Honda has made in its development over the past year in MotoGP.

The Italian rider and the Japanese marque finished dead last in both championships during the 2024 season, enduring their worst-ever campaign in the premier class.

In 2025, Honda has taken steps forward, highlighted by Johann Zarco’s win at Le Mans and Marini finishing every race he competed in, despite missing three rounds due to injury.

Aside from rookie Somkiat Chantra, who has scored just one point, Zarco, Marini, and Joan Mir have placed Honda in the battle for ‘best of the rest’ behind Ducati.

Marini is choosing not to get complacent, stating to GPOne: “We have to keep our heads down and work because, in my opinion, there is still so much to sort out.

“In any case, it’s part of the process, we are making remarkable strides, especially considering where we started from.

“We have made a lot of changes since i arrived and that has allowed us to have decent speed here, in Austria and at two or three other tracks, especially where there is grip.

“Whereas now in Barcelona it’s going to be a big question mark because it’s a track where there is little grip and the engine matters so much and right now, those are our two weak points.

“We’ll see how we perform there.”

The 28-year-old produced his season-best result at the inaugural Hungarian round at Balaton Park, finishing fourth in Saturday’s Sprint and fifth in the Grand Prix.

He tussled in a battle with Franco Morbidelli and Jorge Martin, defeating only the former as Martin secured a career-best fourth place for Aprilia.

“Very good race, I had fun,” Marini told the media post-race.

“I got off to a really good start, in the first two corners, I juggled around pretty well, and then everything went pretty much according to plan.

“We were all there one in a row, half a second apart. Honestly, it already seemed to me that both me and Jorge [Martin] were a little bit faster than Franco [Morbidelli], but it’s really hard to overtake so we waited for the tyres to drop a little bit.

“It went really well, I’m happy with all the work we did all over the weekend and how we’re improving.”

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The NTT IndyCar Series has announced three grid penalties for this weekend’s event at the Milwaukee Mile.

Two entries from Chip Ganassi Racing are affected, with Kyffin Simpson in the #8 car and Scott Dixon in the #9 car both taking new engines ahead of the weekend.

Both drivers reportedly had an engine expire during the team’s test session at Milwaukee last week, leading to the penalties this weekend.

The engines push both entries over the prescribed yearly limit, meaning each will have to slide down the order before the race begins.

The third driver to incur a penalty was rookie Louis Foster, whose #45 entry developed a problem at the very beginning of practice.

Foster did not turn any laps whatsoever, and his Rahal Letterman Lanigan crew began work to fit a new Honda power plant to his car as well.

All three drivers will receive a nine-place grid penalty, which is the standard for oval events.

If one of the three happens to qualify fastest, he will still earn pole but will have to start the race from further down the order.

Qualifying takes place at 1:00 PM central time, with the 250-lap race taking place at the same time on Sunday afternoon.

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Joan Mir revealed his sixth-place in Sunday’s Austrian MotoGP race was his “realistic position in the standings” despite previous misfortune.

The Honda rider recorded his best result with the manufacturer since the 2023 Indian GP by taking sixth in Spielberg, showing signs of a potential improvement for both the bike and rider.

Mir admitted he believed his result was “realistic” and said that it was possible because he was able to “ride like I want” though suggested it was the maximum he could take from the weekend.

“Today, we gave 110% in this race,” Mir shared post-race via GPOne.

“Honestly, I’m happy because I think this is my realistic position in the standings. I had seen it since free practice and in qualifying.

“If I can ride like I want, this result is possible. To do more, though, was impossible.”

“Overall though, we have to be satisfied with this result.”

The 2020 World Champion has been vocal about his struggles aboard the RC213V machine, crashing in 58% of the races he has competed with the Japanese manufacturer.

Following the sixth-place finish, Mir said he has “a lot of confidence” ahead of the next few rounds, including at the brand-new Balaton Park circuit in Hungary. 

“I think the last race where I managed to do something like this was in Aragon because, like in the others, I had the potential, but for one reason or another, I never succeeded.

“Definitely, this result gives me a lot of confidence; it’s something I needed, and I’m happy about it.

“I’m sure it’ll help me in facing the next races. Now, let’s enjoy the moment. It means we aren’t so far away after all.”

Joan Mir: ‘Still not enough’ improvement from Honda to become regular MotoGP challenger

Despite the positive result of Austria, Mir played down the idea that Honda had made any significant improvements at the Red Bull Ring. 

The Spaniard recognised the improvements of the Japanese manufacturer, who took a podium and a victory with Johann Zarco earlier in the campaign, but suggested “it’s still not enough” to return to the front regularly.

“It’s still to early to say, it’s true that we are improving,” Mir said.

“We improved at the beginning of the year but during the season then we didn’t improve much. With the package we have we have done what we can, but I think other manufacturers have improved as well.

“KTM has improved, Aorukua at the beginning of the season was lost while now they are always competitive.

“We are improving, but it’s still not enough. We have made small steps, not enough to make a decisive step compared to the others. They are improving faster than us.”

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Aston Martin boss Andy Cowell has delivered an update on the team’s progress with Honda, as the two entities gear up for its forthcoming Formula 1 partnership for 2026.

The Silverstone-based squad is ditching its status as a Mercedes customer team and will become the sole user of Honda power units amid the start of F1’s new regulations next year.

Honda is returning to the sport in a full capacity for the first time since 2021, since handing operational duties of its engines to its previous customer Red Bull’s powertrains division.

The Honda Racing Corporation president, Koji Watanabe, recently stated that both parties are conducting “multiple tests” together, and has studied components in both Japan and the UK.

Cowell has provided further information on how progress is being made, telling F1’s official website that hardware tests have taken place, and indicated positivity on it.

“The work’s been going on for many, many months so the design of the Honda power unit is very much fitting hand in glove with the back of our monocoque and the front of our transmission,” he said.

“The hardware has been tested in Sakura [Honda’s power unit base in Japan] and our transmission has been tested here at Silverstone as well as on the back of the power unit in Sakura.

“There are daily meetings and then there are regular more senior level meetings to check in to make sure that we’re all working in the right direction.”

Cowell impressed by Aston Martin ‘enthusiasm’ with Honda

Cowell also said that the personnel at Silverstone are buoyant by the prospect of working with Honda, despite the difficulties the process is causing.

“It is a transformation going from a customer team to a works team at the same time as all the regulation changes and the new factory and all the new equipment,” he said.

“It’s a huge transformation for everybody in our team.

“But I’m really impressed with the enthusiasm that everybody’s got. Everybody wants to get to the front. Everybody wants to do well.

“Everybody’s open-minded to making changes in the way we work in responsibilities and so on. Everybody’s busy, everybody’s making lots of change, but it’s enjoyable change.”

READ MORE – Aston Martin teases ‘big component’ upgrade for F1 Belgian GP

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Honda has indicated it would not block a potential Yuki Tsunoda move to Haas, despite the team’s partnership in Formula 1 with rival Japanese manufacturer Toyota.

Tsunoda’s woes since stepping up to Red Bull three races into 2025 have cast doubt on whether he can be the solution to the team’s perpetual second driver problem.

The Japanese driver has accrued a mere seven points in his 10 weekends with the team to date as he has been unable to get to grips with Red Bull’s capricious RB21.

But while Red Bull has reiterated that Tsunoda will complete the season alongside Max Verstappen, that hasn’t ceased rumours that an earlier change could be made.

However, Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) President Koji Watanabe divulged that he has been assured that Tsunoda’s Red Bull spot is not in danger in the short term.

“First of all, there’s no discussion going on saying yes [that he’ll be replaced during the summer break],” Watanabe told Auto Sport Web at Silverstone.

“In the first place, in a discussion with Red Bull in March, we had agreed to transfer Yuki to Red Bull. So we don’t expect him to be replaced in the summer break.

“I am aware that there are various rumours going around, but I confirmed with the team at Silverstone, where the British Grand Prix was held this time, but basically Yuki will be racing for Red Bull until the end of this season.

“I would like to state clearly that this is the case,” he added. “I think this is also a sign of Red Bull’s high expectations for Yuki.”

Red Bull struggles worse than Honda expected

Red Bull’s final campaign with Honda is poised to end without more title success as the team has been unable to provide a consistent rival to McLaren’s leading pace.

Regardless, Watanabe has vowed that the Japanese marque will continue to give Red Bull maximum support as it endeavours to end the collaboration on a high note.

“To be honest, as long as I’m just looking at the results from the outside, I feel like we are struggling more than we expected,” he conceded.

“However, when I keep in touch with Yuki and listen to his various stories, he seems to take it more positively than I expected.

“I think we can continue to do so if the competitiveness of our cars improves and we can seize good opportunities. To that end, we at HRC will continue to fully back up the project.”

Honda backs Tsunoda to prove F1 worth

Tsunoda has been connected with a switch to Aston Martin since the announcement in 2023 that Honda will become the team’s exclusive engine provider from 2026.

However, Aston Martin has been insistent that it will head into next season’s regulation revamp with Fernando Alonso partnering Lance Stroll in an unchanged line-up.

Nevertheless, Watanabe has accepted that the onus is on Tsunoda to produce results in the remaining 12 rounds to enhance the chances that he remains on the grid.

“The expectations have not changed, and if he achieves results in the second half of the season, I think that will increase his chances for the future,” he hinted.

When asked whether Haas’ alliance with a direct competitor in Toyota could be a hurdle to a possible deal, Watanabe replied: “No problem. They are not Team Toyota.”

Haas, though, has the experienced Esteban Ocon tied to a multi-term deal along with Ferrari protégé Oliver Bearman, who has impressed in his rookie campaign in F1.

Alongside the Kannapolis-based squad, Alpine was another team rumoured to have had discussions with Tsunoda’s camp in 2024 prior to his extension with Red Bull.

READ MORE – Pierre Gasly admits something ‘doesn’t seem right’ with Red Bull second seat woe

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Honda Racing Corporation president Koji Watanabe has ruled out a potential reunion with Red Bull should its Formula 1 powertrain collaboration with Ford prove fruitless.

The Milton Keynes-based squad is in the final year of its partnership with the Japanese giants, before it makes a full return to F1 with Aston Martin, for the start of the new regulations next year.

Red Bull will instead shift its powertrain operations, which has operated the pre-existing Honda engines from 2022, to a new era with Ford, making its first venture back into F1 since 2004.

However, the bar has been initially set low, with Red Bull’s now-ex-Team Principal Christian Horner saying it would be “embarrassing” if the collaboration was to outperform Mercedes at its early stages.

The American marque’s Head of Performance Mark Rushbrook has also had to shut down any notion that its partnership was dependent on whether Max Verstappen would stay with the team.

When asked by Auto Sport Web if there was an option to rekindle its successful partnership with Red Bull, Watanabe was firm in his response.

“That is not possible at all,” he said. “Even if we were asked to do it now, it would be too late to make it in time for 2026.

“The chances are zero.”

“Of course, that is a power unit for testing and not the final specification.

Honda and Aston Martin ‘working together’ towards 2026 goals

Watanabe also delivered an update on the current progress on its 2026 engine with Aston Martin.

He confirmed Honda has been testing in Britain and its homeland, and said the Silverstone-based squad’s in-house gearboxes are close to being fully tested in conjunction with the engine.

“We combine the latest products at the time with each other at the testing stage and we do tests in the UK and in Japan,” he said.

“We don’t do the tests at the same time. When we do it in Japan, we do it in Japan only.

“And it’s not just the things that are tested, but also the people who are present at the same time.

“HRC staff and Aston Martin staff work together, and we’ve already done multiple tests.

“The gearboxes that Aston Martin is producing are gradually approaching the final specification and we will continue to test them.”

READ MORE – The warning Christian Horner delivered to Red Bull prior to F1 departure

The post Why Red Bull can’t rely on Honda reunion if 2026 F1 power unit flops appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Honda has expressed its gratitude to Christian Horner for his role in its partnership with Red Bull, which made both parties winners in Formula 1 once again.

The Japanese giants switched to supplying power units for the Milton Keynes-based outfit in 2019, after a disappointing spell with McLaren upon its return to F1.

Honda and Red Bull’s partnership garnered three Constructors’ Championships and four Drivers’ titles, and continues to use Honda power under its Red Bull Powertrains brand, which will cease at the end of the year as it moves to Aston Martin.

Koji Watanabe, president of Honda Racing, paid tribute to Horner, pledging his thanks to Horner, and affirming the remaining months of the relationship with Red Bull will not be affected.

“We are grateful for Christian’s collaboration from the start of our partnership through to today,” he said.

He added: “We have had a great relationship with our new team principal, Laurent, since he arrived at Racing Bulls.

“There is no change in Honda’s intention to do its utmost together with Red Bull Racing and the Racing Bulls over the next 12 races.”

Tsunoda ‘grateful for everything’ to Horner

Yuki Tsunoda also publicly stated his gratitude to Horner for his support since becoming a Red Bull driver in April this year.

Tsunoda, a Honda-backed driver, was installed into the lead Red Bull team from the Japanese Grand Prix onwards, replacing Liam Lawson.

Despite his struggles within the team, Tsunoda has previously stated he has had the full backing of both Horner and advisor Helmut Marko.

On his X account, Tsunoda posted a photograph of himself with Horner, thanking him for the part he has played in giving him a seat alongside Max Verstappen.

“Thank you Christian for all the support you’ve given me this year,” he penned. “It’s been amazing to see what you’ve built at Red Bull Racing.

“Thank you for making me part of that. “I’ve learned a lot and am grateful for everything.”

READ MORE – The man steering Sauber’s revival who could’ve replaced Christian Horner at Red Bull

The post Honda reacts to Christian Horner exit after successful Red Bull F1 collaboration appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Honda Team Manager Alberto Puig has reiterated its interest in signing Jorge Martin for the 2026 MotoGP season if he leaves Aprilia.

Amidst the uncertainty over his Aprilia future, the reigning World Champion has been linked to a potential factory Honda ride in 2026, despite taking part in just one race weekend due to injury so far this campaign.

Luca Marini’s Honda contract expires at the end of the season, with the Italian also sidelined due to injury sustained while testing for the Japanese manufacturer ahead of the Suzuka 8-hour race.

Honda team manager Alberto Puig said there had been no contract signed between the manufacturer and Martin, and that they will only make a move once he is free from his Aprilia deal.

“I’ll tell you what I told you last week and the previous one, we haven’t signed a contract,” Puig said to MotoGP.com.

“The situation between riders and teams – or a manufacturer – is something strictly direct. Of course when we say that, Martin is an option, it’s an option for us and everybody. 

“Because maybe if he is out of contract, he can choose whatever brand. 

“For now, we didn’t make any moves because […] we didn’t check yet the situation. But normally we talk to riders. 

“So when the time comes, if it comes, we will see but for now I can only tell you that there’s nothing and nothing more to say.”

‘There’s no deadline’ – Puig on Honda signing Jorge Martin

Puig also suggested Honda “can wait” to decide on who will be its second rider depending on the outcome of Martin’s situation.

Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta said that Martin would not be allowed to register with another manufacturer for 2026 unless an agreement is reached with Aprilia.

“Frankly speaking there’s no deadline,” he continued.

“We need to be sure what to do and at this moment we don’t know, because we need to understand what’s the rider’s situation. […] We can wait. 

“I mean, frankly speaking, the story is a matter between Aprilia and Jorge. It must be clear. If he gets out of the contract, then we will understand. And that’s all I can tell you. 

“We are not in a super hurry. We will see what is the final resolution there.”

The post Honda confirms Jorge Martin ‘an option’ for 2026 MotoGP season amid Aprilia exit talks appeared first on Motorsport Week.

The NTT IndyCar Series introduced its long-developed hybrid system in the middle of the 2024 season, with the first race weekend featuring the new components being the race at Mid-Ohio. The series returns to rural Ohio this weekend, marking one full year with the system in place.

With 18 races having been completed in the year since it was introduced, Motorsportweek.com looks back at how the electrified system has performed so far.

Learning on the fly

There was a long lead time on IndyCar’s implementation of hybrid power, with the series choosing to develop its own version of an electrified power source. IndyCar worked closely with MAHLE to develop a supercapacitor system that sits within the bellhousing at the rear of the existing chassis, then completed the final steps in-house with the help of Honda and Chevrolet.

Despite actively developing the electric power solution since before the 2022 season, it was the middle of 2024 before the new components were used in a race weekend. Multiple delays pushed the implementation date back, including supply chain issues, reliability issues, and even a decision to abandon a new 2.4-liter combustion engine that was originally part of a single upgrade package with the hybrid unit.

IndyCar’s larger teams helped test the hybrid system on track, and the smaller teams were only able to sample the near-final spec a couple times before they were tasked with running the components at a points-paying event.

Last year’s race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in early July was when all the development and testing efforts were put to the test. Teams fitted the weighty components to their cars and sent drivers out on track to report back on how the system fared in a high pressure situation.

Not only did drivers have to adjust to the added power, and decide where was the best location best suited to deployment, but they also had to adjust to a different feeling car. The added weight of the system, nearly 100 pounds, is located near the rear axle and changed the balance of the open wheel cars dramatically.

Ahead of Sunday’s event, opinions were all over the place regarding how the system would hold up and what kind of benefit would be seen.

Teething issues

Unfortunately, that first weekend at Mid-Ohio was not completed without flaws. On the formation lap ahead of the green flag, Scott Dixon’s Chip Ganassi Racing Honda came to a stop on track. The hybrid system had erroneously drained every bit of electrical charge from the car, causing it to lose drive and become stranded.

Dixon’s car was removed from the track and taken back to the garage area for diagnosis. With the help of the series, which had an interest in minimizing problems from their new technology, Dixon was able to return to the track with a repaired hybrid system.

He still only completed half the allotted race distance and finished in last place, well below his 13th place qualifying position.

Other isolated issues plagued the system in the ensuing races as well, including a technical problem at Iowa Speedway that prevented the system from engaging after some cars left pit lane.

The issue mainly affected qualifying, but led to a contentious decision from race control that would have allowed Colton Herta to qualify a second time because of problems with his hybrid. His team ultimately did not send him out a second time, perhaps avoiding further objections from his competitors.

Even with the benefit of a lengthy offseason to address lingering concerns, drivers once again come across problems with the hybrid during this year’s race at The Thermal Club. Intense heat caused some units to overheat, and some drivers reported running approximately half the race with no hybrid boost available.

Despite the isolated issues outlined above, the hybrid introduction has been largely successful from a technical standpoint. The supercapacitor-based system has proven viable in all manner of situations, including during the Indianapolis 500 when the eyes of the world were tuned into the action.

Minimal observable impacts

Perhaps the largest problem with the hybrid implementation has been its relative invisibility. As soon as the system was fitted to the cars, fans realized they were hard pressed to notice any difference at all.

While having the supercapacitors tucked away inside the chassis is a great technical achievement, there is no part of the system visible once the car is assembled. This largely includes when fans are in the garage area watching the mechanics work, with the access to do so a big selling point of IndyCar.

Even drivers have reported that the entire endeavor hardly seems worth the time and trouble. Near the end of the 2024 season, the always vocal Pato O’Ward stated, “I would say it hasn’t been a massive change in terms of what we need to do in the car. Obviously there’s more times we need to click this button. I think the racing has taken a big step down.”

Others would argue that the result has very much been worth the effort, however. Bringing road relevancy to a racing series is a necessary step in modern times as sponsors look for direct connections to their public facing products.

There was also the need to satisfy existing partners, with Honda reported to have set an ultimatum for hybrid implementation after multiple delays pushed the timeline back. Such relationships are incredibly important to the series, and getting the product across the proverbial finish line has helped keep them in good standing.

Though the observable impacts of the hybrid system may be small on a day-to-day basis, the overall health of the series has been improved on account of its largely successful implementation.

The next major undertaking is a completely new chassis and a revisit of the idea of a combustion engine with larger displacement. Those changes are set to come in 2028, with a variation of the current hybrid systems fitted inside as well.

The post Feature: Evaluating IndyCar’s hybrid power system one year on appeared first on Motorsport Week.