Fernando Alonso says that Aston Martin’s upcoming works power unit partnership with Honda for 2026 is a “great sign” for the future of the team.
Alonso’s Aston Martin team announced earlier this week that they will move from Mercedes power units to Honda for the new engine formula to be introduced in the 2026 season. Aston Martin will be the sole team that Honda supply the new power units for.Alonso has previously raced with Honda power units during their return to Formula 1 with McLaren between 2015 and 2017. The partnership infamously soured as Alonso grew increasingly frustrated with the poor performance and unreliability of Honda’s early V6 turbo power units and was openly critical of his team’s supplier over team radio.
However, after Honda has since developed world championship winning engines, Alonso says that Aston Martin’s partnership with Honda is one to celebrate.
“Very good news for the team, very exciting,” he said. “I think it shows the commitment of Aston Martin to really win races, win championships in the future – being independent, manufacturing their own gearboxes and everything on the car.
“It’s the only way probably, to really be 100% sure that you are in control of everything in your package, in your car. And it’s a great sign for everybody at Aston Martin – you know the desire and the potential to win is there.”
Alonso says that becoming a works team gives Aston Martin the best opportunity to fight for future world titles, but that being a customer to Mercedes will not prevent them from doing so prior to 2026.
“It is always better if you can develop your power unit, together with the chassis and have everything integrated well in advance,” he said. “Being a works team, I think there are only benefits.
“I think that doesn’t mean that until 2026 Aston Martin will not have a chance to win the championship.”
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André
26th May 2023, 13:06
Looking at how he’s licking Stroll’s boot, I won’t be surprised if he later says that Honda has the best non-GP2 enjin he’s ever driven.