Honda HRC boss change reported from 2027

Autosport and Motorsport.com report Koji Watanabe will retire from Honda HRC on 1 January 2027, with Keiichi Yasuda lined up as successor.

Autosport and Motorsport.com reported that Koji Watanabe is set to retire from Honda HRC on 1 January 2027, with Keiichi Yasuda due to take over. The move has not been officially confirmed in the supplied information, so it remains a reported change rather than a confirmed announcement.

Both outlets said Watanabe joined Honda in 1987 and became head of its racing division in 2022. If completed, the handover would follow a long spell inside the company and several years leading its competition activities under the HRC structure.

Honda was founded in 1948 and raced in Formula 1 across eight seasons from 1964 to 2008. In that period, the Japanese constructor recorded three wins and no world titles, which gives added context to a reported leadership change involving one of the sport’s established manufacturers.