Why Honda F1 engine deal “transforms Aston Martin’s status in the sport”
On Wednesday morning, Aston Martin and Honda announced their col🌌laboration for F1’s new engine regulations.
It means Fꦡ1 will have six manufacturers on the grid for 2026 - Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull-Ford, Audi, Renault (Alpine) and Honda.
Being linke🐎d with a manufacturer gives you a crucial advantage in terms of engine integration and technical support.
A big factor in Red Bull’s domination in recent seasons has been their association with Honda after dropping Renault at the end of 2018꧟.
“I think it is really big,” Slater said. “I think it transforms Aston Martin’s status within the sport. It changes the F1 landsc🐻ape. They become a works team - they have the backing of an engine manufacturer, in t൩his case, Honda.
“They can look Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes in the eye and class themselves as equals in that regard. Honda are going to suppl🧸y their engines, they’re going to supply only Aston Martin from 2026 onwards so that means when they’re designing the c😼ar at Aston Martin they know the shape of the power unit, they can work with the engine supplier throughout the process to make sure everything works together neatly.”
Slater believes with Honda working🎐 alongside Aston Martin, they are arguably the best placed team to topple Red Bu⭕ll in F1.
“When was the last time a customer team really won the championship? You can talk about Red Bull doing it with Renault but they were really the works team. This is a big moment for Aston Martin,” he🧔 added. “This team went into liquidation in 2018 - the team based at Silverstone.
“What a job Lawrence Stro👍ll, the Canadian billionaire has done. It’s now worth in excess of 🐓£1 billion and now they have the backing of Honda as well. If you were to ask me which team is likely to succeed Red Bull as champions now you’d have to throw Aston Martin into the mix - it’s that important this.”
With a sharp eye ꦉfor F1’s controversies and storylines, Connor is the heartbeat of our unbiased reporting.
