Why did Aston Martin go to Honda engines when the history and circumstances suggested this was risky? – Emily
Aston Martin signed their deal to become Honda’s works engine partner in early 2023.
At the time, the received wisdom in F1 was that a team needed to have a factory engine deal to win the championship. The only time that had not been the case before then in the modern era was Brawn in 2009, and those were exceptional circumstances.
Since then, McLaren with their Mercedes engines have proved that it is possible to win the title as a customer, but Aston Martin did not know that at the time.
McLaren were also the team who suffered when Honda returned to F1 in 2015 underprepared. The pair split after three difficult years, but while Honda progressively improved following their switch to Red Bull, it was only in 2021 that they finally produced an engine that was absolutely competitive.
The same man was primarily responsible for both the McLaren and Aston Martin deals with Honda – Martin Whitmarsh, who used to be CEO of the Aston Martin team.
You might think that Whitmarsh would have been “once bitten twice shy” when it came to Honda.
But on the basis that Honda were winning with Red Bull at the time, and that this gave an ambitious team an exclusive works engine deal, it would be harsh to say that it was self-evidently a bad decision when it was made.
In hindsight, of course, it was very much a mistake. If Aston Martin still had a Mercedes engine, they would be in a much better place – although there are serious question marks about their car, too, right now.
Honda’s situation is very reminiscent of 2015. A new engine that is down on power and weak at energy recovery.
After a decade in F1, and notwithstanding the hiatus when they thought they were pulling out and disbanded much of the engine department, how they’ve found themselves in this place again still seems incredible.
The angry, despairing look on team owner Lawrence Stroll’s face in Bahrain said it all.
And for Fernando Alonso, who suffered the Honda at McLaren, it surely must be heartbreaking.