The Sauber F1 Team will switch power unit providers in 2018 with Honda coming on board to replace long-term partners Ferrari, with who they have been in partnership with since 2010.
The Swiss team are using 2016-specification Ferrari engines in 2017 but will become the second team in Formula 1 to be powered by Honda next season.
The McLaren F1 Team have had exclusive use of Honda power units since 2015 as part of a works deal, but Sauber will become the first customer team alongside the Woking-based squad.
“It is a great honour for the Sauber F1 Team to be able to work together with Honda in the coming seasons,” said Monisha Kaltenborn, CEO and Team Principal of the Sauber F1 Team. “Our realignment is not just visible through the new ownership but also now with our new technological partnership with Honda.
“We have set another milestone with this new engine era, which we await with huge excitement and of course we are looking for new opportunities. We very much look forward to our partnership with Honda, which sets the course for a successful future – from a strategic as well as from a technological perspective. We thank Honda for making this great partnership happen.”
Honda’s Katsuhide Moriyama has welcome the news that they will be supplying a second team with engines from next season, feeling it will benefit everyone involved to have more than one team helping with the development of their power units.
“In addition to the partnership with McLaren which began in 2015, Honda will begin supplying power units to Sauber as a customer team starting from next year,” said Moriyama. “This will be a new challenge in Honda’s F1 activities.
“In order to leverage the benefits of supplying to two teams to the maximum extent, we will strengthen the systems and capabilities of both of our two development operations, namely HRD Sakura and the operation in Milton Keynes.
“We will continue our challenges so that our fans will enjoy seeing a Honda with dominant strength as soon as possible.”
