McLaren CEO Zak Brown made a huge blunder back in 2017 when his side parted ways with Honda at the end of that season. The American businessman made this decision because of the increasing pressure he received from Fernando Alonso to make this choice. The Spaniard had lost his patience with Honda that year and wanted McLaren to change their power unit suppliers. Although Brown did go ahead with Alonso’s demands, the Spaniard left McLaren at the end of the 2018 season when he chose to retire. Since Honda is now dominating the sport with Red Bull, former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan has pointed out how Brown made a huge mistake by listening to Alonso.
“The McLaren Alonso thing ended for me was just crazy because Alonso was so against Honda. He convinced Zak Brown to ditch Honda. And I think you interviewed me and we did a TV program. And I was very public about it. I said, ‘McLaren will rue the day that they got rid of Honda,” said Jordan on one of the episodes of the Formula for Success podcast last year.
The 75-year-old then pointed out how successful Honda has been with Red Bull recently. The Japanese manufacturer helped the Milton Keynes outfit win two consecutive championships in 2022 and 2023. Moreover, considering the way Red Bull is currently dominating, they are also likely to win the Constructors’ title in 2024.
As it so happens, Alonso may have to deal with Honda engines again. This is because the Japanese manufacturer will supply the power unit for Aston Martin from the 2026 season onwards.
Honda will end their partnership with Red Bull in 2025
Although Honda had announced their decision to withdraw from F1 at the end of the 2021 season, the year Max Verstappen won his maiden championship, they had a deal with Red Bull that they would continue to supply them with engines until the end of the 2025 campaign. However, Honda has now reversed its decision to step away from F1 and will return to the sport from the 2026 season onwards.
Since Red Bull had already confirmed that they would produce their own power units in collaboration with Ford from 2026 onwards, Honda decided to join hands with Aston Martin. Fans are excited to see how the Silverstone-based outfit will perform with Honda as their supplier.
Alonso, too, revealed his excitement about this partnership despite not having the best of relationships with Honda previously. As quoted by formula1.com, the 42-year-old said, “It’s very good news for the team – very exciting. I think it shows the commitment of Aston Martin to really win races, win championships in the future“.
However, the Spaniard cautioned his fans by stating that there is a chance that he will not race until 2026. Alonso stated that while he still feels more motivated than ever to compete at 42, he is not sure if he will feel the same in another two years.
