"They've thrown away the partnership with the best team on the grid": Leaving Red Bull for Aston Martin is still a loss for Honda

F1 pundit Scott Mitchell-Malm claims Honda's decision to leave Red Bull for Aston Martin is a loss for the Japanese company. Honda recently announced that it will be returning to the sport in 2026 as an engine partner with Aston Martin.

Given Aston Martin's recent success in the sport, it is no surprise that the Japanese giant has chosen to partner up with the Silverstone-based team for 2026. The Japanese brand currently still supplies Red Bull, despite having officially ended their stint in the sport.

Until the end of 2025, Honda has chosen to maintain its support for the teams owned by the Bulls. They take charge of assembling the power units and offer assistance during trackside and race operations.

It's worth noting that the power units are still the intellectual property of Honda, and due to a development freeze, RBPT will not be further developing its engines.

Given that Red Bull is the dominant force in the sport right now, F1 pundit Scott Mitchell-Malm argues that moving to Aston Martin is still a loss for Honda, despite their recent surge in form.

Speaking on The Race podcast, Mitchell-Malm said:

"The thing is, they've thrown away a partnership with the best team on the grid. They are dominating F1 at the moment. They've won three of the last four titles and they'll win two more this year. I suspect they'll win two more next year and Honda only has itself to blame for not being able to continue this in the longterm. And I think that's astonishing".

---

Sergio Perez's form might accelerate Red Bull's sale of AlphaTauri

According to F1 expert Mark Gallagher, Sergio Perez's accomplishments with Red Bull could potentially trigger the team's decision to sell AlphaTauri. Perez's achievements have shed light on the limitations of Red Bull's driver academy and could prompt a reevaluation of their approach.

Traditionally, the team has relied on their driver academy to groom young talents for their main team. However, Perez, an experienced driver, joined the team towards the end of the 2020 season without being a product of the junior program.

Sergio Perez has achieved notable success with the team based in Milton Keynes and currently holds second place, just behind his teammate Max Verstappen, in the drivers' standings.

By achieving success without the need for a sister team like AlphaTauri, which is the team's usual approach, Perez has effectively demonstrated that an alternative philosophy could be viable. Gallagher suggests that Perez's accomplishments might expedite Red Bull's plans to sell AlphaTauri.

Speaking on the "GP Racing" podcast, Gallagher said:

"The driver development programme has been found wanting. There is no better example of that than the fact that they signed Sergio Perez and, as it happens, he is the perfect number two for Max in the team in many respects."

He added:

"Checo is proof of the failure of Red Bull's driver academy, because when they tried with youngsters like Pierre Gasly or Alexander Albon, they were unable to stand out."

It will be interesting to see what the Austrian team does with AlphaTauri in the coming years. As it stands, the team has no concrete plans to sell the Scuderia team.