Honda has expressed a strikingly ambitious goal for Fernando Alonso. Despite Aston Martin’s difficult performance in the current F1 season, the Japanese manufacturer wants to help the Spaniard achieve his third world title, confirms top executive Shintaro Orihara. Alonso’s last title dates back to 2006 and his last serious title chance was already in 2013. At 45 years old and with an Aston Martin that has so far been hardly competitive, that ambition seems far away at the moment.
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Nevertheless, Honda chief engineer Shintaro Orihara emphasizes that Alonso’s feedback plays an important role in the development of the power unit. According to the Japanese, the F1 veteran knows better than anyone what he needs. “He (Alonso, ed.) has twenty years of experience,” Orihara said in an interview with Autosport. “So if Fernando says: ‘We need this positioning before entering a corner,’ then we have to respect his opinion.”
‘Goal to make Fernando Alonso champion’
When asked if it is actually Honda’s goal to make Alonso world champion again, Orihara is clear. “That is absolutely our goal. We work closely together and we know he is a great driver,” emphasized the Honda executive. “He has enormous passion and he trusts Honda. We want to give him what he wants; that is absolutely our goal.” However, Honda will first have to make up a huge deficit. Despite several upgrades, Aston Martin only managed thirteenth and fourteenth place in Hungary.
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In addition, Alonso himself is still uncertain about his future. The two-time world champion will decide after the summer break whether he will continue with Aston Martin in 2027 or retire after the longest F1 career ever. “Driving these cars on circuits like Spa-Francorchamps or Silverstone is by no means a dream for the future,” he said earlier. “So we will see.” Meanwhile, an important test awaits Honda after the summer break. In Zandvoort, the manufacturer wants to introduce a much-discussed new engine that should close the gap with the competition.
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