Honda is one of the unaltered racing engines supplier for Formula 1 teams serving them since 1960s. 2015 was one of Honda’s latest success with F1 regulations changing naturally aspirated 2.4 L V8 engines to smaller turbocharged 1.6 L V6.
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However, at the end of last week Honda claimed it is quitting Formula One as the engine and parts supplier. The automaker will finish its current contracts with Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Alpha Tauri till the end of 2021 season. As Honda’s release says, Japanese automaker will transfer its effort into the electric and fuel cells powertrains R&D.
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It is well-known that automakers need motorsport of any kind to chase two aims - technology development and marketing, and the second one is highly dependent from the first. So probably Honda became one of the first automakers to face the fact, that internal-combustion technology reached its peak and now it’s the right time to switch the focus into more promising direction - before the new technology will directly affect the sales on consumer market.
