Fernando Alonso Claims He Enjoyed the “Honda Era” of McLaren as It Reminded Him of His Childhood

Tanish Chachra | 24/10/2024
Fernando Alonso at a press conference

Fernando Alonso was widely believed to have had a struggling second stint with McLaren when Honda was providing them with the engines. The underwhelming performance of Honda’s equipment often made the Spaniard rant on the radio.

His ranting peaked when he called Honda’s engine a ‘GP2 engine’ in Japan back in 2015. Honda parted ways with McLaren after 2018, and at the same time, Alonso also left the Woking-based outfit to pursue other racing avenues.

The qualms between Honda and Alonso remained unresolved. However, in a recent interview with Tom Clarkson, Alonso claims he enjoyed McLaren’s Honda era because of the connection it had with his childhood.

“I was enjoying because of my love for Japan, the connection of McLaren-Honda which was literally the inspiration that my father had to build my first go-kart. It was a replica of the Senna Prost Formula One at that time,” said Alonso.

However, Alonso didn’t even see a fraction of what Senna and Prost achieved in the second coming of Honda and McLaren. Yet, Alonso is set to reunite with Honda with the introduction of the new engine regulations.

Last year, Honda announced that they would join Aston Martin in 2026, and that should make Alonso delighted. Unlike last time, Honda is one of the best in the business right now.

Honda can help Aston Martin become World Champions

Ever since Honda left McLaren, they joined hands with Red Bull, and with them, while it took time, success came eventually. With Honda, Red Bull has won three world drivers’ and two constructors’ championships, with another drivers’ championship expected to be added this year.

The Honda power unit is undoubtedly at par with Mercedes and can be argued to be the best in F1 right now. With the expertise Honda has gathered over the years in F1, they are expected to have a good engine in 2026.

Aston Martin’s boss Lawrence Stroll is committed to winning the F1 championship. With Honda, Alonso, and now Adrian Newey set to join next season, Aston Martin has all the right ingredients to be a title-contending force.

So, Alonso himself would be looking forward to ally with Honda yet again. But will he be able to win another championship? That remains to be seen.

Post Edited By: Vidit Dhawan
Fernando Alonso

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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