Now, here is a wild one for you. As Autosport reports, one of the most remarkable moments in the Formula 1 paddock after the US Grand Prix in Austin had nothing to do with the racing on track at the Circuit of the Americas. Instead, team representatives found themselves fielding bizarre questions about a rumored future partnership between Aston Martin and Red Bull Powertrains.
It all started from an unfortunate interpretation of a Q&A column by F1 correspondent Andrew Benson, published by the BBC. The piece rightly highlighted the initial shock felt by Aston Martin team owner Lawrence Stroll when it became apparent how far behind Honda was on the power unit side at the start of F1's new era. While that led to some early doubts, the team committed fully to Honda, though the BBC piece left a tiny window open by noting those doubts could return if Honda fails to make expected steps forward in 2027 or 2028. Naturally, the media snowballed the idea into something much larger.
Are we having any serious conversations with anyone to supply another team? No, we don't feel we are ready for that,
Faced with questions in the media pen, Aston Martin chief trackside officer Mike Krack firmly batted away the noise. Krack pointed out their long-term partner, stating: “I can only say we have a long-term partner, which is Honda, that by the way has done its 500th race this weekend. And I think we will be together also when we win our first race together.” Abandoning a works deal now would be an extreme knee-jerk reaction. Despite early struggles, Honda is pouring immense energy into turning things around, a stark contrast to the bleak situation Adrian Newey famously endured back in 2014 with Renault.
Newey spoke in Austin about the crucial difference, noting: “As a chassis designer, if the PU manufacturer has a bad year, that happens, and you accept it. But if the PU manufacturer has a bad year and doesn’t appear to have any intention of trying to address the problem, that’s altogether a different matter, and that’s quite bleak at that point.” With Honda, however, Newey sees plenty of promise in developments already underway. Aston Martin wants the deep integration that comes with a works deal, making a switch to a customer engine a very short-term approach.
On the other side of the garage, Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies was equally clear that a partnership isn't happening. While their power unit project with Ford has enjoyed a surprisingly strong start, Red Bull Powertrains simply does not have the capacity or ambition right now to supply an outside customer squad. “Are we having any serious conversations with anyone to supply another team? No, we don't feel we are ready for that,” Mekies explained, noting that they already have enough work improving their own unit and supporting Racing Bulls without adding another team into the mix.
Ultimately, as both teams made clear in the Austin paddock, the whole saga was just a classic F1 storm in a teacup. Aston Martin is sticking with Honda, and Red Bull has plenty on its plate already.
