Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has acknowledged the growing emergence of Aston Martin as a superpower in F1.
Under the ownership of Lawrence Stroll and his consortium, Aston Martin has taken F1 by storm this season, with Fernando Alonso scoring five podiums from seven grands prix, including finishing runner-up to Max Verstappen in Monaco.
The team also recently moved into its new factory in Silverstone, ensuring all the key departments are under one roof, whilst its own state-of-the-art wind tunnel is due to go online next year.
For 2026, a final piece of its championship-chasing puzzle will slot into place as Aston Martin will no longer be a power unit customer of Mercedes after recently announcing a works deal with Honda.
Horner readily concedes Aston Martin is “putting a good team together”, and can understand its decision to gain a greater level of independence.
“They’ll get a competitive engine, but they already have a competitive engine,” he added.
“They will perhaps achieve more independence because I guess their architecture is currently dictated by another team (Mercedes).
“And it’s very expensive for them in the cap, the transferable components come with a big tax on them, so it’s not cost-efficient for them to be a customer.”
Horner has reiterated Honda’s decision to withdraw from F1 at the end of 2021, with the Japanese manufacturer citing a focus on future power unit and energy technologies, forced its hand to develop its own system.
From the aches of its relationship with Honda, Red Bull Powertrains was born, and will be in direct competition with its former supplier from 2026.
“It’s good to see Honda continuing in the sport,” remarked Horner. “They have obviously done a significant u-turn from where they were 18 months to two years ago.
“But I think their decision, in many ways, forced us to make a decision about our long-term future and not being beholden to a manufacturer and taking control of our own future.
“And by making the investment that we have in Red Bull Powertrains, it has enabled us to put the whole thing under one roof.
“It’s a huge task for 2026 but one that we’re really excited about.
“For the long-term prospects of the team, its longevity and competitiveness, of having engine engineers and chassis engineers sitting under the same roof, for a fully integrated drive train, that will pay dividends in the long run.”
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