Aston Martin studies changing Mercedes by Sling. The Japanese brand is interested in joining the project led by Lawrence Stroll after announcing the motorization agreement between Ford and Red Bull, which leaves The Japanese without a hole in the grid for 2026. The operation is tempting for the Silverstone team, which would have its own engine and would leave to depend on a direct rival like Mercedes.
In 2021, Honda announced its exit from Formula 1, although the success of their alliance with Red Bull That same year, he continued an alliance with the energy drink brand in the development of its engines, although under the name of Red Bull Powertrains. The Japanese brand wants to have its name on a single-seater again in 2026, when the engine regulations will undergo a major change and costs will be reduced.
The initial idea was do it with Red Bull, but the Austrians slammed them when announcing their deal with Ford last February. As compensation, Helmut Marko offered them the AlphaTauri team, which would come under the control of the Japanese. However, Toyoharu Tanabe and Masamitsu Motohashi, leaders of Honda’s Formula 1 program, dismissed it.
A win-win agreement
The Japanese seek to associate with a consolidated team and with options to win, andhe best positioned is Aston Martin. The Silverstone team is the only team at the front of the grid not to have its own engine, and its reliance on Mercedes powertrains plays against him when it comes to fighting for a hypothetical title against the brand of the star, so he would welcome the union with Honda.
For their part, the Japanese would reach a structure that by 2026 they expect to be established in the top positions and with a good economic situation, which would allow them to focus exclusively in manufacturing their engines.
McLaren, reticent after their 2017 divorce
The other option that Honda is considering is to return with McLaren. The Woking team is also interested in looking for their own biker to try to return to the path of victory, but the record works against them. In 2017, Zak Brown, head of the British team, broke his relationship with the Japanese after three years of poor engine performance that plunged the team and Fernando Alonso to the bottom of the grid.
The relationship between Brown and the heads of Honda It’s totally broken so a new deal before even a decade has passed seems unlikely.
The decision will come before the summer
This situation leaves Aston Martin in the ‘pole position’ to become with Honda engines. The team is looking for its own motorcyclist and the Japanese want a solid project in which to repeat the success they are having with Red Bull. Everything indicates that the interests of both will converge. That yes, the negotiations will not be able to be extended.
The Honda dome has set the next month of June as the top, so it is likely that before the summer break the future of Aston Martin is known, and all roads point to Honda.
