Lando Norris
McLaren
Mercedes
Red Bull
Ferrari
Williams
Racing Bulls
Aston Martin
Haas
Alpine
Aston Martin are just a few weeks away from marking a new beginning with Honda, moving away from Mercedes engines for the first time in their existence.
There is hope that with Adrian Newey at the helm, Fernando Alonso will finally receive the opportunity to win another drivers’ championship.
But it hinges on Aston Martin being able to bring a lot of things together. Their new partnership with Honda must start well.
Team owner Lawrence Stroll has lofty ambitions and has always stood by his target of becoming champions one day. The 2026 F1 regulations are his best chance for that yet.
Aston Martin appointing Adrian Newey as team principal WILL NOT WORK
An invisible issue could hurt Alonso in 2026, with the budget cap not really having had an effect on the outlook of the grid.
Honda’s new engine sounds ‘very angry’, but that doesn’t guarantee them any results on track. They’ll be desperate to avoid a repeat of their partnership with McLaren between 2015 and 2017, which was a disaster.
READ MORE: Ralf Schumacher says one driver deserves an Aston Martin seat ‘1000 times more’ than Lance Stroll
F1 fans worried about Fernando Alonso ‘failure’ after Lawrence Stroll’s latest Honda admission
Speaking to the Spanish edition of Motorsport.com, Stroll has reminded fans of the importance of giving Honda some time to figure things out.
“It’s a new power unit that we’ll have next year,” he said. “You have to give Honda the necessary time, hopefully, to develop that power unit.”
But it’s the sort of message that sends alarm bells ringing. If it takes time for them to get up to speed, might it waste any of Alonso’s remaining good years? Fans on Reddit fear so.
“Alonso’s getting a GP2 engine, isn’t he?” said one individual.
“Galaxy brain move by Honda, spending billions to finally have their revenge on Alonso,” replied another.
Change my mind: Fernando Alonso is going to finish his F1 career without winning another race
“If Aston isn’t at least fighting for podiums, it should be a massive failure considering the huge investment these last few years,” suggested one fan who believes the team must perform now.
“Is Alonso retiring on a high note too much to ask for?” asked someone else, while another fan is worried about the performance of Stroll’s son, Lance: “Lol, the absurdity of Lawrence claiming they have to be patient because of Honda.
“Dude, Honda is the one having to be patient before they demand Lance wastes other people’s time somewhere else! This team is such a joke.”
And finally, one last comment shared the least optimism of anyone, with a bleak undertone reading, “So Honda’s gonna be slow then.”
READ MORE: Max Verstappen ‘would not hesitate’ to join rival F1 team in 2027 if Red Bull’s car fails next year
Why would Fernando Alonso only retire if Aston Martin have a strong car in 2026?
Jacques Villeneuve thinks that McLaren turned Alonso evil by not letting him beat Lewis Hamilton back in 2007.
Nowadays, he’s a different driver. He doesn’t use mind games as much anymore, but if he were to be in a title fight, he probably would.
So why would he retire only if he does well in 2026? Because he wants to go out on a high note. That’s the dream of many elite sportspeople – just ask Nico Rosberg, who did it back in 2016.
The Spaniard can’t accept ending his career on a sour note, hence, if 2026 turns out to be a bad year, he will remain on the grid for a bit longer.
Receive exclusive F1 news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
