Honda to supply power units to Sauber from 2018

Honda has announced it will supply Sauber with power units starting with the 2018 season, giving it a second team alongside its McLaren deal.

For the first time since returning to the sport in 2015, Honda will power two teams, adding Sauber as a customer next season. The Japanese manufacturer says the multi-year deal "will further accelerate its pursuit of energy management technologies and improvement of the competitive strength of its power unit."

Honda has recently stated it felt supplying more than one team would help it try to recover from its current struggles having been hit by numerous performance and reliability issues this season.

"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," Katsuhide Moriyama, Honda's chief officer, brand and communication operations said. "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."

Sauber's current contract with Ferrari expires at the end of this year, and the team is currently using year-old power units. The new deal is described as an "extensive strategic and technological realignment" which "creates a new basis for the team" as it rebuilds following a change of ownership in 2016.

"It is a great honor for the Sauber F1 Team to be able to work together with Honda in the coming seasons," team principal Monisha Kaltenborn said. "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."