Japanese manufacturer Honda is all set to return to the F1 grid in the 2026 season as they partner with Aston Martin. A deal that could result in Lawrence Stroll losing a whopping $35,000,000 in annual boost. And the responsibility for this could lie on Chief Executive Martin Whitmarsh.
Whitmarsh, who was infamously involved in the 2008 Spygate scandal, was the architect of the Aston Martin and Honda deal. The call that Whitmarsh made back in 2008 with McLaren turned out to be a disaster, and some reports have emerged that he could have once again made a bad call.
How could Lawrence Stroll lose $35,000,000 ?
Aston Martin and Honda released a joint statement a few weeks to confirm that the Japanese manufacturer will be the British F1 team’s title sponsor from the 2026 season onwards. They confirmed that the name of the new team as Aston Martin Aramco Honda.
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This change means that Aston Martin will need to give up their current partnership with IT giant Cognizant. Since the deal with Cognizant helps the British F1 team receive a whopping $35,000,000 as per insidersport.com, Lawrence Stroll will lose this amount as a result of the new partnership with Honda.
Honda will hope to make a winning return to F1
Honda has had four previous eras in F1 as an engine manufacturer, and during this time they have had mixed amounts of success. They first competed in the championship as a works team back in 1964-68 when they won three races.
Honda then returned to the grid in 1983, but this time solely as an engine manufacturer. They supplied engines to some incredibly successful teams such as Williams and McLaren. With Williams, Honda won two championships in 1986 and 1987, while with McLaren they won four from 1988-91.
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Meanwhile, their third and fourth era in F1 was a sheer disaster as they failed to help any of the teams they supplied engines to win a championship. However, that disappointing run ended in 2021 when their engines helped Red Bull’s Max Verstappen win the Drivers’ Championship that season.
With Honda now set to enter their fifth stint with Aston Martin from the 2026 season onwards, they will hope to form another successful partnership. However, as for Aston Martin, this will undoubtedly be a huge gamble.
The British F1 team will need to hope that Honda can deliver from the very first season they begin to supply them engines. However, what could work incredibly well in Aston Martin’s favor is that Honda will act as a works team supplier as the Japanese manufacturer has confirmed that they will not provide their engines to any other rival teams.
