You want to fight for the F1 title with Aston Martin from 2026

(Motorsport-Total.com) – From 2026, Honda will transfer its factory engine contract to Aston Martin, ending its successful partnership with Red Bull. The associated goal is clearly defined: “We want to be world champions from 2026,” says Koji Watanabe, President of Honda Racing Corporation HRC.

Honda initially decided to withdraw from Formula 1. Red Bull then decided to develop its own engines and commit to Ford for 2026. But Honda reversed its decision to withdraw and signed up as an engine manufacturer for the 2026 Formula 1 season.

In search of a new factory partner, several candidates approached Honda. Pleased with Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll’s intention to offer all key elements of the title race from 2026, the Japanese choice was clear. Because they follow the same goal there.

“We know that this is very difficult and not easy,” says Watanabe in an interview Motorsport.com. “But we need good goals to do well with Aston Martin. That’s why we, together with Stroll and Toshihiro Mibe (Honda CEO; editor’s note), have set ourselves the goal of winning the world championship that year. , of course, not simple as that.”

What convinced Honda to Aston Martin

When asked if the Aston Martin/Honda combination has all the prerequisites for this, Watanabe admits: “We’re probably still missing something at the moment, but we just have to tell each other what we’re missing.”

“From Aston Martin’s point of view, what is missing on Honda’s side, and vice versa. This is an exchange of trust to be a top team together.”

Aston’s modern facility at Silverstone also convinced Honda that they could do this together, which shows how serious Canadian businessman Stroll is about achieving his big goals.

“After being registered as a power unit supplier for 2026, other teams contacted us who were interested in working with Honda,” revealed the HRC president. “Then we talked to these parties and made a decision,” he explains.

“Honda was very pleased with Mr Stroll’s great enthusiasm and strong leadership in the fight for the world championship in 2026. They are investing a lot of money to build a factory in Silverstone. We visited them to see the factory being built to visit. .”

The collaboration started successfully

“We have met several times with Martin Withmarsh and Mike Krack, the management team. They are very open and the whole team is working in the same direction, it is a united team. That is a very good picture for us.”

“At the same time, they also believe that Honda is a good partner for them to become world champions,” emphasizes Watanabe, explaining the first steps of the collaboration so far: “We have already established a technical work team and also a meeting of the management committee to discuss some of key issues that we can improve on.”

And Fernando Alonso is also on board: last week, the two-time Formula 1 world champion announced that he would remain with Aston Martin in the Honda era until at least 2026, after saying that he is also interested in the prospect of a single partnership between Aston. and Honda is convincing.