2024 Aston Martin | Aramco F1 Team

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Wishing everyone a Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! Hope everyone is well.

Everything progressing well on 2026 PU. Just chipping away everyday.

Personally, I think it is good Tsunoda-kun did not go to Red Bull. I think he will be better off in the long run by not going there. The reasons are many.

[Jurgen von Diaz]

What do you guys think? Is Yuki on Aston Martin's shortlist? Alonso has a contract until 2026 and Lance seemingly until to the grave. Perhaps Yuki could be Aston Martin's reserve driver in 2026 and have a race seat in 2027.

[peewon]

What do you guys think? Is Yuki on Aston Martin's shortlist? Alonso has a contract until 2026 and Lance seemingly until to the grave. Perhaps Yuki could be Aston Martin's reserve driver in 2026 and have a race seat in 2027.

I think Honda certainly wants that. When they announced the partnership, Honda exec (Koji Watanabe?) was asked about this and their reply was basically that they wouldn't interfere with driver selections but would like to see a Japanese driver. This was before Alonso contract renewal.

I think it will largely depend on how 2026 goes. If Aston is competing for wins consistently, I can see both Alonso and AM extending for at least one more season. If Aston are nowhere, Alonso might call it quits himself.

[-wkst-]

Stroll hired ex WDCs, VET and ALO. And when everything is in place, around 2027, they will line up with TSU and STR? No chance.

They can attract top drivers, even if they are not at the top in 2026.

[NAPI10]

Stroll hired ex WDCs, VET and ALO. And when everything is in place, around 2027, they will line up with TSU and STR? No chance.

They can attract top drivers, even if they are not at the top in 2026.

Exactly...why AM will hire drivers rejected by other teams? AM's next target will be 'Max' or worst case scenario 'Sainz'.
TSU will get reserve seat with Honda influence at the most.

[peewon]

Stroll hired ex WDCs, VET and ALO. And when everything is in place, around 2027, they will line up with TSU and STR? No chance.

They can attract top drivers, even if they are not at the top in 2026.

Exactly...why AM will hire drivers rejected by other teams? AM's next target will be 'Max' or worst case scenario 'Sainz'.
TSU will get reserve seat with Honda influence at the most.

I was about to respond to wkst with those exact names (Max and Sainz) but the caveat there is that the project has to be in a position to win titles (in case of Max) and at least races for Carlos. Under those situations Alonso will likely want to continue at least one more year. If Max is available he might not have a choice but if the car is not fighting for wins, I can see Honda putting Yuki in one of the seats.

[SealTheRealDeal]

Stroll hired ex WDCs, VET and ALO. And when everything is in place, around 2027, they will line up with TSU and STR? No chance.

They can attract top drivers, even if they are not at the top in 2026.

I think Alonso's eventual replacement will be both a Honda driver and a serial champion. So Max Verstappen or (failing that) Alex Palou.

I could only really see Tsunoda get a ride if Honda launches a maximum pressure campaign against Lance, which isn't impossible but seems unlikely given Honda has said they won't interfere and they also seemingly didn't put up much of a fight to get Tsunoda promoted to the RBR seat.

[selvam_e2002]

Max still have more chance with Ferrari, Mercedes... instead of AM... AM may go with Norris or some one from Alonso academy... It seems Alonso not going anywhere from AM... if he wins 2025 WDC ...

[diffuser]

Stroll hired ex WDCs, VET and ALO. And when everything is in place, around 2027, they will line up with TSU and STR? No chance.

They can attract top drivers, even if they are not at the top in 2026.

Exactly...why AM will hire drivers rejected by other teams? AM's next target will be 'Max' or worst case scenario 'Sainz'.
TSU will get reserve seat with Honda influence at the most.

I was about to respond to wkst with those exact names (Max and Sainz) but the caveat there is that the project has to be in a position to win titles (in case of Max) and at least races for Carlos. Under those situations Alonso will likely want to continue at least one more year. If Max is available he might not have a choice but if the car is not fighting for wins, I can see Honda putting Yuki in one of the seats.

RBR are doing enough to keep Max happy, for the foreseeable future, max isn't going anywhere. RBR's competitiveness can change from year to year but many pieces need to fall into place for Max to end up at AMR. You need a down trend at RBR, you need big upswing at AMR and you need open driver slots at AMR to line up with that. The odds of Max ending up at AMR are still rather long.

Still baffles me, that with the number of things that can change between now and mid 2026, people are still will to talk about who will be driving for AMR in 2027.

[Jurgen von Diaz]

Exactly...why AM will hire drivers rejected by other teams? AM's next target will be 'Max' or worst case scenario 'Sainz'.
TSU will get reserve seat with Honda influence at the most.

I was about to respond to wkst with those exact names (Max and Sainz) but the caveat there is that the project has to be in a position to win titles (in case of Max) and at least races for Carlos. Under those situations Alonso will likely want to continue at least one more year. If Max is available he might not have a choice but if the car is not fighting for wins, I can see Honda putting Yuki in one of the seats.

RBR are doing enough to keep Max happy, for the foreseeable future, max isn't going anywhere. RBR's competitiveness can change from year to year but many pieces need to fall into place for Max to end up at AMR. You need a down trend at RBR, you need big upswing at AMR and you need open driver slots at AMR to line up with that. The odds of Max ending up at AMR are still rather long.

Still baffles me, that with the number of things that can change between now and mid 2026, people are still will to talk about who will be driving for AMR in 2027.

The moment Max loses the championship for the first time, it's go time. Newey and a few more important people are gone. Max isn't going to work with the team and pull it to the top, he is going to talk to top teams. He wants the best car. Max is young and the best, so teams will make room for him if they have to. And Merc is that kind of team if their '26 engine is so good what people are saying.

[Nikosar]

Honda CEO Koji Watanabe said the engine manufacturer hopes to "keep an eye" on Tsunoda, even when he separates from Red Bull to join Aston Martin.

Honda is supporting Tsunoda with $10 million.

At the time, Tsunoda had responded, "In the end, we need an available seat for Aston Martin if they are willing to support me from 2026 onward, which means a high possibility that they want me in Aston Martin, but we need an available seat, otherwise there is no chance.

That shows that Tsunoda is a high candidate.

Also we need to understand that Stroll Jr is at the center of the project of Aston. If in 2026 they will have a strong car, than after Alonso leaves, AMR won’t pair him with another WC champion or tier I driver as Stroll Jr will be the first driver and they want to maximise his chances to win. Maybe they will hire a rookie or a good second dirver or another driver backed by Honda.

Only chance to see an F1 star joining is if Sttoll cannot fight for wins in 2026 or simply he loses interest and leaves F1.

[Nikosar]

I was about to respond to wkst with those exact names (Max and Sainz) but the caveat there is that the project has to be in a position to win titles (in case of Max) and at least races for Carlos. Under those situations Alonso will likely want to continue at least one more year. If Max is available he might not have a choice but if the car is not fighting for wins, I can see Honda putting Yuki in one of the seats.

RBR are doing enough to keep Max happy, for the foreseeable future, max isn't going anywhere. RBR's competitiveness can change from year to year but many pieces need to fall into place for Max to end up at AMR. You need a down trend at RBR, you need big upswing at AMR and you need open driver slots at AMR to line up with that. The odds of Max ending up at AMR are still rather long.

Still baffles me, that with the number of things that can change between now and mid 2026, people are still will to talk about who will be driving for AMR in 2027.

The moment Max loses the championship for the first time, it's go time. Newey and a few more important people are gone. Max isn't going to work with the team and pull it to the top, he is going to talk to top teams. He wants the best car. Max is young and the best, so teams will make room for him if they have to. And Merc is that kind of team if their '26 engine is so good what people are saying.

Not to sure about that. It is also likely that if he does not fight for the championship, he leaves the sport even before 2028. Many believe they he will retire at 2028.

The way he talks shows that for Max is not about winning anymore now. He will become a father soon and expressed he wants to spend time with his family.

If we see Hamilton and Alonso paying the hidden heavy price of having long careers in F1 we can understand why Max wants to leave. He also said “ "That makes me realise I don't want to drive forever. I want to see them grow up, maybe see my own kids grow up and spend time with them."”

[Jurgen von Diaz]

RBR are doing enough to keep Max happy, for the foreseeable future, max isn't going anywhere. RBR's competitiveness can change from year to year but many pieces need to fall into place for Max to end up at AMR. You need a down trend at RBR, you need big upswing at AMR and you need open driver slots at AMR to line up with that. The odds of Max ending up at AMR are still rather long.

Still baffles me, that with the number of things that can change between now and mid 2026, people are still will to talk about who will be driving for AMR in 2027.

The moment Max loses the championship for the first time, it's go time. Newey and a few more important people are gone. Max isn't going to work with the team and pull it to the top, he is going to talk to top teams. He wants the best car. Max is young and the best, so teams will make room for him if they have to. And Merc is that kind of team if their '26 engine is so good what people are saying.

Not to sure about that. It is also likely that if he does not fight for the championship, he leaves the sport even before 2028. Many believe they he will retire at 2028.

The way he talks shows that for Max is not about winning anymore now. He will become a father soon and expressed he wants to spend time with his family.

If we see Hamilton and Alonso paying the hidden heavy price of having long careers in F1 we can understand why Max wants to leave. He also said “ "That makes me realise I don't want to drive forever. I want to see them grow up, maybe see my own kids grow up and spend time with them."”

Every driver is saying that they are not going to drive forever, but only N. Rosberg could end his career on top. And I highly doubt that Max would end his career before 2028. When Red Bull falls from the top, the top teams will be throwing cash at Max, and he isn't going to say no. An F1-multichampion to end his career before 30's, it's impossible.

[Nikosar]

A new interesting statistic, from @formulamoments, is showing that if Lance Stroll scored 0 points in 2023 and 2024, Aston still would have finished 5th in the constructors championship !

Yet we had Krack saying “ there is not much difference between Alonso and Stroll”….