How Honda's F1 struggles could impact its MotoGP team

Having recently taken over from Mercedes as the chief engine supplier of Aston Martin, Honda have certainly stood out as one of the biggest underperformers on the grid so far.

The last few seasons have seen a dip in form for the MotoGP division too, failing to win a title since Marc Marquez's 2019 victory, and only scoring two race wins since 2021 - both of which came from the satellite Castrol LCR team.

Aston Martin's catastrophic underperformance, which even led to speculation that the Japanese suppliers might have engaged in sabotage against the British manufacturer, has certainly put its MotoGP division on notice.

"In MotoGP, this will definitely have an effect," said an unnamed Honda executive to Autosport.com, "We share the same structure with F1, and the immediate efforts will now be focused on solving that problem."

Given the close links between their F1 and MotoGP departments, it seems that there is certainly a link between the performance issues of the engines, which could largely be down to the inexperience of the team.

With that said, things have started to look brighter in MotoGP. Last year, Joan Mir was able to score two podiums aboard the Honda HRC factory bike, and the riders were generally positive following a solid pre-season Sepang test earlier this year.

The team have also attracted the attention of Yamaha's 2021 world champion Fabio Quartararo, who is rumoured to have signed a deal to switch to Honda from 2027 onwards.

"We have started to use HRC’s facilities in Sakura - a development centre for F1 engines, power units and chassis for four-wheel vehicles - for our two-wheel projects as well," said Koji Watanabe, Honda's President and CEO, "Having the two- and four-wheel divisions working together is very beneficial."

Either way, Honda will need to step up quickly if they want to reverse the reputation damage they have sustained across both racing categories in recent seasons.

If the F1 team can follow the positive direction of its MotoGP counterpart, there may still be hope for Honda yet.