Honda targets third F1 title for Alonso amid Aston Martin's 2026 struggles

Honda says it wants to make Fernando Alonso a three-time Formula 1 World Champion, an extraordinary claim given Aston Martin's position at the back of the 2026 grid and Alonso's own doubts about staying in the sport. The Japanese manufacturer is building its program around the 45-year-old's feedback, but the gap between its championship rhetoric and the team's current results is vast.

Why it matters:

• Alonso has not won a title since 2006 or mounted a genuine challenge since 2013, and at 45, he is well past the typical age of a championship contender.
• Aston Martin's season has been catastrophic, requiring a 16-component upgrade merely to reach 13th and 14th in Hungary.
• The disconnect between Honda's ambition and the team's on-track reality risks undermining credibility with both the driver and the fanbase, particularly given persistent questions about the power unit's competitiveness.

The details:

• Honda chief engineer Shintaro Orihara insisted the manufacturer's focus centers on satisfying Alonso's demands. "If Fernando says 'we need this deployment before going into a corner', then we should respect his opinion," Orihara said.
• When asked if a third title is a real target, Orihara replied: "That is our target, definitely... He has a big passion, and he trusts Honda."
• Alonso, however, sounds far less certain. He will decide after the summer break whether to continue into 2027, stating that "driving these cars in places like Spa or Silverstone is not what I'm dreaming of for my future," a clear critique of the 2026 regulations.
• Adrian Newey remains optimistic Alonso will stay, but even he acknowledges the team must first become competitive before any championship talk becomes realistic.

What's next:

• Honda will introduce its heavily revised power unit at Zandvoort after the summer break, offering the first real test of whether the manufacturer can close the gap to the front.
• Alonso's future decision will likely follow that debut, meaning the Dutch Grand Prix could become a pivotal weekend for both his Aston Martin tenure and Honda's ambitions.
• Without a significant step forward in performance, Honda's dream of crowning Alonso for a third time may fade before the season reaches its conclusion.