Grand Prix Rejects

After a few whispers going round about teams courting Honda as a possible engine partner, we've now had formal confirmation by Honda that they intend to return to Formula 1 with the Aston Martin team. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/65682563

Aston Martin Honda?

Lot of upside for Honda if they can power the progeny of Jordan to a championship.

That said, AM is investing a lot of money and effort, maybe they'll be coming good with the new tunnel etc. coming on line.
It seems a little weird, but better they're in than out no?

6 engine manufacturers across ten teams (7 across 11 on the off chance the Andretti/GM pipedream ever happens) with Haas locked up with Ferrari, and AT with RBPT-Ford, that only leaves poor Mclaren on the outside looking in.

Makes perfect sense for both the Strolls and Hondas. The only odd part to me is that AM road cars have been using Merc engines of late. Yes, the car company and the F1 team aren't actually one and the same, but it still has to be a bit awkward.

Row Man Gross-Gene wrote: ↑25 May 2023, 13:11 Lot of upside for Honda if they can power the progeny of Jordan to a championship.

That said, AM is investing a lot of money and effort, maybe they'll be coming good with the new tunnel etc. coming on line.
It seems a little weird, but better they're in than out no?

It seems that, as you suggest, Honda is making the bet that Stroll's infrastructure investment in the team is going to keep it near the front and make it worth taking the gamble on investing in them. Equally, they're currently the highest ranked team in the sport which is not otherwise a manufacturer team in their own right or the works team for an engine manufacturer - indeed, with six out of the ten teams already accounted for in 2026, the choice was limited to some extent anyway.

Wallio wrote: ↑25 May 2023, 18:02 6 engine manufacturers across ten teams (7 across 11 on the off chance the Andretti/GM pipedream ever happens) with Haas locked up with Ferrari, and AT with RBPT-Ford, that only leaves poor Mclaren on the outside looking in.

Makes perfect sense for both the Strolls and Hondas. The only odd part to me is that AM road cars have been using Merc engines of late. Yes, the car company and the F1 team aren't actually one and the same, but it still has to be a bit awkward.

Strictly speaking, the tie up with General Motors is intended to be a badge engineering exercise, rather than GM acting as a manufacturer in their own right. As an aside, it's worth noting that one of the companies that General Motors was rumoured to be discussing a possible partnership with was Honda, given that the automotive side of GM and Honda are collaborating to develop a new line of electric vehicles.

As for the comment about Aston Martin, asides from buying engines and electrical systems from Mercedes, Mercedes also owns around 10% of Aston Martin (which I believe makes them the third largest shareholder in the company), and I believe their long term plan was to increase that to 20% of the business in the near future.

mario wrote: ↑25 May 2023, 18:41 Mercedes also owns around 10% of Aston Martin (which I believe makes them the third largest shareholder in the company), and I believe their long term plan was to increase that to 20% of the business in the near future.

Now THAT'S interesting. I wonder if they'll sell as they did with their stake in Mclaren years back (which I believe was both the team and company).

Wallio wrote: ↑25 May 2023, 20:09

mario wrote: ↑25 May 2023, 18:41 Mercedes also owns around 10% of Aston Martin (which I believe makes them the third largest shareholder in the company), and I believe their long term plan was to increase that to 20% of the business in the near future.

Now THAT'S interesting. I wonder if they'll sell as they did with their stake in Mclaren years back (which I believe was both the team and company).

They've had a stake since 2013, when Mercedes bought 5% of Aston Martin as part of the agreement they struck to supply them with engines and other components, which was later increased to about 10% of the company. This article from 2020 talks about how the long term plan back then was for Mercedes to increase their stake in Aston Martin over time to eventually reach 20%, although the past few years seem to have thrown a bit of a spanner into the works for those plans: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54712376

As to the question of whether Mercedes will sell their stake in Aston Martin, the answer appears to be no - Whitmarsh did point out that the automotive company is a separate entity to the race team, and Stroll is still pretty happy with the supply deal that he has with Mercedes. https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/ ... s-mercedes

Assuming that Alonso is going to drive until he's 93, he'll be thrilled about developing another Honda partnership.

CoopsII wrote: ↑25 May 2023, 11:56 Aston Martin Honda?

Just call it Amhonda in one word

Spectoremg wrote: ↑29 May 2023, 17:37 Assuming that Alonso is going to drive until he's 93, he'll be thrilled about developing another Honda partnership.

For what it is worth, the president of the Honda Racing Corporation, Koji Watanabe, has said that they would have no objections to Alonso driving for the team if they wanted him to. Meanwhile, Mike Krack has said that he doesn't see any particular reason why Alonso wouldn't want to drive for them in 2026.