The Autosport Podcast: F1 & more

F1's Next Big Thing? Aston Martin and Honda Join Forces

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Episode notes

Jonathan Noble (@nobleF1) joins Martyn Lee to discuss the news that Aston Martin is giving up Mercedes power to team up with Honda in 2026. This strategic alliance comes after Honda's most recent exit from F1 in 2020 and its subsequent 'return' to provide power units to Red Bull until the end of the 2025 season. The future of Honda in F1 had been uncertain, but Aston Martin's impressive progress in the sport, coupled with its free-agent status post-2025, made it an ideal candidate for a full-service partnership.

This move sees Aston Martin become Honda's official manufacturer team in Formula 1, a significant step for both parties. Martin Whitmarsh, Group CEO of Aston Martin Performance Technologies, has described this partnership as a crucial piece of Aston Martin's ambitious plans in Formula 1.

The sport's growing sustainability goals, which include a commitment to be net carbon neutral by 2030 and a switch to fully sustainable fuels in 2026, had a significant impact on Honda's decision to recommit to F1. Toshihiro Mibe, Global CEO of Honda, believes that the technologies and know-how gained from this new challenge can potentially be applied directly to Honda's future mass-production electric vehicles.

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