Max Verstappen breaks silence on Honda’s ‘pity’ Aston Martin deal, calls it ‘bit of a shame’
Max Verstappen has revealed his thoughts on Honda's deal with Aston Martin for supplying their engines from 2026.
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Red Bull‘s star racer Max Verstappen has raced with Honda engines for the most crucial Formula One campaign of his life–the 2021 F1 season. At that time, Verstappen, a seemingly young racer, was faced with Lewis Hamilton, who had already achieved legend status with his seven World Championship victories. After a neck and neck duel that lasted till the very end of the league, Max and Lewis had their big showdown at the Abu Dhabi GP where the former came out victorious. And that was when Honda announced they would be leaving F1.
From 2019, Honda had given a massive support to Red Bull, staying with the team as they found the perfect car that was worthy of a Championship win. But the Japanese engine supplier’s sudden exit from the pinnacle of motorsports raised a few eyebrows in F1 town. Now, new sources have confirmed that Honda will be back in the business in 2026–but this time, it will not be with Red Bull, but they will power Aston Martin, the team that is currently in the second position in the World Championship, right behind RBR.
Now, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was asked ahead of the Monaco GP about his thoughts on Honda’s comeback to F1 holding hands with Aston Martin Racing. The Dutchman’s response indicates he was quite miffed that Honda did not stick with Red Bull for the long run. He said, “It’s a bit of a shame. When they said they were going to stop, Red Bull got to work itself. When that whole process was already underway, Honda said they wanted to continue anyway. But then you can no longer work together. That is a pity.”
Max Verstappen is looking forward to 2026 when the rules are changed
While speaking on his expectations out of the Honda-Aston Martin deal, Max Verstappen did not sound intimidated at the two giants coming together to take Red Bull down. Rather, he said, “I am also looking forward to what will happen in 2026. I think it’s very good for Aston Martin. Honda builds a good engine, we all know that by now.”
The change of rules in F1 is a routine activity that takes place every so often, and the last time there was an upheaval in the regulations, the Turbo-Hybrid era came to an end. And therefore, Mercedes’ dominance in Formula One also took the backseat as Red Bull came up as the new leaders. The next time the FIA announce such big changes would be in 2026, and Aston Martin have already started gearing up for the future with their deal with Honda.
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