Honda’s 2026 return to Formula 1 with Aston Martin has mostly delivered software gremlins and underwhelming power, so naturally, the company has decided now is the moment to change captains. Koji Watanabe, Honda Racing Corporation president since 2022, is handing the role to Keiichi Yasuda — HRC’s current executive vice president — effective January 1, 2027, breaking from Japan’s usual April 1 reshuffle date.

The official explanation leans heavily into corporate-speak: a “planned periodic personnel rotation designed to strengthen the management structure in response to global transformation.” Yasuda, who arrives via Honda’s HR division rather than a racing background, pledged to “firmly inherit the solid foundation built by Watanabe” and focus on “investing in people.”

Watanabe himself, brought in to unify Honda’s motorcycle and car racing operations in 2022, leaves behind an F1 comeback that’s been defined more by reliability issues and a power deficit than by results. Whether a new face at the top does anything about the actual engine remains, for now, unaddressed.

Source: RacingNews365 (https://racingnews365.com/honda-deliver-major-team-update-as-leadership-change-announced)