F1 News: Honda chief OUT as Aston Martin nightmare takes new twist

Adrian Newey and Koji Watanabe are pictured together to an Aston Martin themed background — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Honda chief OUT as Aston Martin F1 nightmare takes new twist

Huge change coming for the Japanese giant

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Monday 5 October 2026 19:45

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Honda Racing Corporation has announced that President and CEO Koji Watanabe will retire at the end of this year.

The bombshell news comes after a disastrous first season of the Japanese giant's power unit partnership with the Aston Martin F1 team.

Their association got off to the worst possible start in March when Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey revealed that the new Honda engine produced vibrations so bad that drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll risked permanent nerve damage.

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Aston Martin were unable to even finish races in the early part of the 2026 season, and while the situation has improved the power unit remains their major area of weakness.

Alonso was somehow able to finish P8 in Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, after both he and Stroll had made it out of Q1 in Saturday's Qualifying session.

Watanabe exit officially announced

Just 24 hours after that result in Sepang, Honda issued an official statement announcing that Watanabe will retire effective January 1, 2027 and will be replaced by current executive vice president and company veteran Keiichi Yasuda.

A Honda statement read: "Since assuming the position of Operating Officer, Chief Officer for Brand and Communication Operations, and General Manager of Corporate Communications Division at Honda headquarters in 2020, Watanabe has directed Honda's branding and media strategies, including motorsport activities. In 2022, he assumed the post of President and CEO of HRC, leading Honda's motorsport activities for a total of approximately six years.

Watanabe is retiring after six years at the very top.

"His successor, Yasuda, joined Honda out of admiration for Honda's culture and motorcycle racing, having desire to work at motorcycle sales division or HRC in Asaka.

"He started his career in human resources at Honda HQ, and since then, he gained extensive experience in HR, as well as serving in Asia as president of a local motorcycle subsidiaries, one of his long-cherished ambitions.

"Most recently, as Operating Officer and Head of Human Resources Unit - the top position in Honda's HR division - he worked to advance human capital management. He was appointed Executive Vice President and Representative Director of HRC in April of this year.

"This executive change is part of a planned periodic personnel rotation designed to strengthen the management structure in response to global transformation and to accelerate business expansion for the next generation.

"While such appointments typically take effect on April 1 in Japan, the effective date was set to January 1 this time to align with the seasonality of motorsport and to take on the 2027 season under the new structure right from the beginning. Under the new leadership, HRC will continue to strive delivering the excitement of racing to the customers around the world."

Watanabe will 'fight to the end'

"It is my honour serving as a president of HRC with the wonderful colleagues” said Watanabe in an official statement.

“I embarked on the project to integrate automobile racing development into HRC, as I became responsible for the operation and communication of motorsports as Honda's Chief Officer for Brand and Communication Operations in 2020. HRC previously was a motorcycle racing company, and I integrated automobile racing into it.

"In 2022, I assumed the post of President of the new HRC, unifying both motorcycle and automobile motorsport activities. Since then, we decided on our return to F1, expanded our global motorsport structure by reorganizing HPD in the U.S. into HRC US and establishing HRC UK, and worked on building HRC's global brand.

"For the remaining three months of my presidency, I will continue to do my utmost, aiming for victory until the very end."

Yasuda will build on 'solid foundation'

Yasuda meanwhile stated: "I consider it my mission to firmly inherit the solid foundation built by Watanabe. Evolve it further, unite everyone's vector toward the single goal of winning in races, and make HRC even stronger.

"Leveraging my management experience as president of overseas local entities and my background in HR, I will focus on investing in people and strengthening our organization toward victory.

"I will devote myself to building an HRC whose challenges resonate with our stakeholders and motorsport fans, so that we can share the emotion of victory together."

Who is Keiichi Yasuda

Yasuda takes the top job at Honda's racing arm after a 36-year- spell with the company. His career timeline looks like this:

1990: Joined Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (assigned to Human Resources Department)

1999: Assigned to Honda of America Mfg. (Ohio, U.S.A.), handling HR, labor relations, and safety operations

2004: Returned to Japan; served successively as Group Leader and Department Manager in HR and labor relations domains

2008: Assigned to Honda Motor India, managing HR operations for multiple local entities

2011: Returned to Tokyo HQ; served as HR Planning Block Leader and Director of Global Human Resource Development Center, among other positions

2015: In charge of HR at Asian Honda Motor (Thailand) for Asia & Oceania Regional Operations

2018: Appointed President & CEO of Boon Siew Honda (Malaysia)

2020: Appointed President Director of Astra Honda Motor (Indonesia)

2023: Appointed Operating Officer and Head of Human Resources Unit, Honda Motor Co., Ltd., overseeing company-wide HR system reforms, talent strategy, and human capital management

2026: Appointed Executive Vice President and Representative Director of HRC

2027: Appointed President and CEO of HRC

Written by

Graham Shaw - Consultant Editor

Digital sports leader with 30 years of senior level experience running global brands. Built sportinglife.com to be a behemoth in the UK as well as being in charge of the Planet Sport network of sites including planetf1.com, football365.com, teamtalk.com and planetrugby.com. Then grew goal.com to be the world's biggest soccer website in 18 languages and 37 territories. Was GM of Portals for Perform Group (now DAZN) with overall responsibility for sportingnews.com, spox.de and voetbalzone.nl.

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