Aston Martin and Honda have reached a collaboration agreement that will come into effect in 2026. The Japanese will stop supplying engines to Red Bull and will do so exclusively for Lawrence Stroll’s team in an alliance that was announced yesterday on the eve of the Grand Prix from Monaco. Today, the team manager Mike Crack He has given more details of the agreement in a press conference held in the Principality and in which, among other things, he has referred to the million dollar question: Will Fernando Alonso be in the team when Honda arrives?
“Fernando was not involved in the negotiation with Honda, but he was always kept up to date. We wanted to know his thoughts. We wanted to have his opinions, as we do with every issue that concerns the team, because he is a key member in our structure, as so is Lance Stroll“Krack pointed out.
“I think that right now there is no reason to think that Fernando should not be with our car in 2026. I want to say that I don’t see a single reason why he shouldn’t be there,” remarked the Luxembourg coach, who did not hesitate in his response despite the fact that Alonso will be 45 years old when the Aston Martin-Honda partnership starts.
Fernando himself, in a recent interview with the newspaper Marca, already referred to the possibility of continuing in F1 beyond his current contract: “It is true that in 2026 there will be another change in regulations with the new engines… and that It’s another temptation. I feel tempted to continue,” he said. Martin Whitmarsh, who was one of Alonso’s great allies in his first stage in McLaren and since last year he has been CEO of the Aston Martin Performance Technologies division, he has been one of the architects of the agreement with Honda and he has also shown his confidence that the Spanish driver can prolong his career: “Fernando Alonso sees that Honda is a great partner for Aston Martin. I hope he’s around for a few years and it would be great to have him in the car in 2026 as well.”
Regarding the future collaboration with Honda, Mike Krack added that “one of the main things to look at is the power unit rules and the chassis 2026 is all that will follow from them. There have already been workshops and group meetings since February of last year. It shows you that you have to be fully integrated, or becoming more and more integrated, with your power unit to design a chassis suitable for these rules. This is something if you have a more open work arrangement. You can have a lot more information beforehand regarding energy management, what aerodynamic configuration you have to put in, to set the right goals, and this is just a great asset or a great advantage to this new type of rules.”
Ayer, Toshihiro MibeCEO of Honda, already commented that the bad relations with Alonso in his second stage at McLaren were a thing of the past and that there would be no veto against the Asturian in the event that he decides to continue at Aston Martin: “The past is the past. We were in a very difficult time, we did our best as a power unit manufacturer and that’s why we came to win. Alonso is a super talented, great driver and we respect him enormously.”
2023-05-25 12:12:32
#Aston #Martin #hopes #Alonso
