Aston Martin has announced its intention to become a Honda works team in System 1 for the 2026 season, and we’ve already talked in regards to the huge stuff. We all know how necessary it’ll be to compete as a works team in 2026. We all know Aston Martin is prepared to develop its personal racing machine. We even learn about Honda’s return to F1. Which means there’s only one final free finish: Fernando Alonso.

To say that tensions between Alonso and Honda run deep would in all probability be an understatement. Between 2015 and 2017, Alonso was a part of the McLaren workforce that sourced its engines from Honda. The partnership was nowhere close to as profitable as was hoped, and Alonso raged towards Honda’s “GP2 engines” — by which he meant that driving Honda’s energy unit was like driving a feeder sequence car. Consequently, Alonso and Honda didn’t precisely half on the very best of phrases.

However Alonso is in superb kind in 2023. As part of the Aston Martin program, Alonso has completed on the rostrum in all however one race this 12 months, securing him a cushty third place general within the Championship as we head into the Monaco Grand Prix. He’s appeared to be a revitalized competitor, one keen to supply mid-race recommendation and encouragement to his younger teammate Lance Stroll — and undoubtedly not the identical man who had appeared so defeated again in 2016.

It could appear unusual to be speaking about Alonso sticking round within the sport till 2026, however the 41-year-old has already voiced his intentions to proceed competing for “just a few extra years.” He has his sights set on one other Championship. Aston Martin will stay a Mercedes buyer workforce for 2 and a half extra years, however it does sound like Alonso can be ready to hang around till 2026 if he was assured that Aston Martin would maintain him round.

Fortunately for Alonso, it feels like each Aston and Honda are keen to see how issues go.

“Alonso is an excellent driver, and at Honda, we respect him,” Koji Watanabe, President of Honda Racing Company (HRC) mentioned in a press convention preview of the information. “However it’s as much as the workforce to pick out the drivers.”

Martin Whitmarsh, Group CEO of the Aston Martin Efficiency Applied sciences, continued the thread of dialog.

“The [drama] stems from one thing Fernando mentioned within the warmth of battle, which is regrettable,” he famous. “[Alonso] is a very nice driver, and I believe he’s developed his eager about driving and about being a workforce member since then.

“If he’s driving with the identical power, dedication, talent, and pace in 2026 [as he is in 2023], we’ll be delighted to have him on the workforce.”

Fernando Alonso / Aston Martin championship in 2026, anybody?