Honda president shuts down 2027 F1 engine rumours that are ‘absolutely not true’

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Amid speculation that Honda and Aston Martin pushed back on the recent regulation change over the engine split, Honda president Koji Watanabe set the record straight.

Earlier this week, Formula 1 teams agreed to a regulation change in 2027, which would reduce the energy harvesting split in the power units from 50/50 to 58/42.

This means that the internal combustion engine will supply a majority of the power to the cars, reducing reliance on the battery starting next season.

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However, not all teams and engine manufacturers were on board with this decision, with Honda, the engine partners of Aston Martin, in particular, said to be one of the most vocal critics of the change.

Given the pressure Aston Martin have put on Honda this season, that makes sense. However, Honda president Koji Watanabe has addressed the rumours of their dissatisfaction with the rule change.

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Honda President explains their real concern with 2027 regulation change amid frustration rumours

Speaking in an exclusive interview with AS Web, Honda HRC president Koji Watanabe was asked about Honda opposing the regulation change and the engine split heading into 2027.

Watanabe denied this opposition from their end, suggesting that they were more concerned with the logistical challenges this change would bring about for them as an engine supplier.

“One of the reasons we decided to improve the regulations this time was to take measures against the safety issues that arose at Suzuka. Another reason was to develop measures with the aim of making F1 itself even more attractive. We at Honda agree with the stance of openly discussing these two points.

“Of course, various opinions were expressed during the discussion process. The discussion wasn’t initially divided into two stages, 2027 and 2028, and there were rumours that Honda was opposed to the 60:40 change from 2027 from the beginning, but that’s absolutely not true.

“It was a matter of timing and method; there are simply different viewpoints. Rather, Honda wasn’t opposed to this change; we agreed with the direction. We hope you understand that. We understand and respect the final decision made by the FIA. We can now proceed with development.

“While there were no major issues with the overall direction, if we have to make any changes to the hardware in accordance with the regulation changes, we face the challenge of verifying the reliability of those parts.

“Can we reliably procure those reliable parts by the deadline? Increasing the fuel flow rate requires significant changes to the engine hardware. We needed to have a thorough discussion about whether we could procure those parts and ensure a stable supply within the short timeframe until next year.”

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Honda president claims new engine split forces HRC team to increase development efforts

Speaking further in the interview, Watanabe confirmed that the engine split change would force the creation of a new engine, which is going to strain their work efforts going forward.

“Well, that’s about right. However, even a 5% increase in fuel flow from 2027 will significantly increase development man-hours.

“With any change, when regulations change, the amount of work required to ensure reliability increases. Honda simply expressed its opinion on that point; we weren’t outright opposing the change.”

Honda have been partly responsible for Aston Martin’s terrible start this season, as they didn’t deliver the power unit Adrian Newey and his team had hoped for.

Despite Aston Martin and Honda seeing positive signs from the AMR26 last weekend, this positive momentum did not carry over into qualifying at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.