While they’re not actively looking to “muscle in” on Honda’s F1 deal with Red Bull, Aston Martin are willing to take over engine manufacturing duties should the Japanese company decide to withdraw from the sport.
At the same time, Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer told Autosport that his company is very pleased with Red Bull’s Honda partnership and that he would be happy to see it continue beyond 2021.
“Would I like to be a little bit more involved [in F1] technically? I think that depends,” said the Aston Martin boss following last weekend’s British Grand Prix. “The obvious place for Aston to become involved in would have been the engine. I think that’s a question on whether Honda continues to develop the engine.”
“Clearly they have a lot more money and muscle power than we do. I don’t think we’re going to muscle in on that while the relationship with Honda exists.”
“We’re very happy with that relationship and we’re happy to see it continue. But nobody knows quite what the regulations will be beyond 2021 and who is going to be involved in that. We stand ready from that point of view, with the hope that Honda will continue.”
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Right now, Aston Martin’s main focus is the “development of the Valkyrie, Valhalla, Vanquish series and the exploits in Le Mans.” The British automaker will also build a race version of the Valkyrie, aimed at the World Endurance Championship’s upcoming Hypercar class.
Still, it’s quite interesting to see Aston Martin so willing to throw their hat in the ring for whatever is going to happen in Formula 1 come 2021.