Horner: Aston Martin not profitable to be a client team

Although Aston Martin lost second place in the Constructors’ Championship to Mercedes in Spain, it’s hard not to admit that this team is becoming a real force and will soon seriously claim victory. Five podiums Fernando Alonso in the first seven Grand Prix of the season – the best proof of this.

At Silverstone, the team has just moved to a new state-of-the-art base, where all of its divisions are united under one roof, and the newest wind tunnel should come into operation next year.

Finally, in 2026, Aston Martin will become a priority customer of the Japanese corporation Honda, which will supply its engines. The team currently uses Mercedes-made powertrains and transmissions.

“They will get a competitive engine, even though they still have competitive engines,” said Christian Horner, team leader at Red Bull Racing, which will continue to partner with Honda through 2025. – They will probably become more independent, because now, I believe, another team dictates the chassis architecture to them.

But in conditions of limited budgets, this is very expensive, you have to pay high taxes for the components that they supply, so it is not financially profitable for Aston Martin to remain in the status of a client team.

It is good that Honda will continue its program in Formula 1. It is clear that they have made a 180 degree turn in their policy compared to what it was one and a half or two years ago. I think their decision to leave the championship in many ways forced us to take measures that will provide us with a long-term perspective, and we will no longer depend on the engine manufacturer.

We have invested in the creation of the Red Bull Powertrains engine division to be in charge of our future. This daunting task needs to be completed by 2026, but we are very interested in doing this, and in the long run it will pay off.”