Why Aston Martin had to shed the 'customer team' status with a deal with Honda

Aston Martin is trying to shed its 'customer team' status with an upcoming engine deal with Honda, as being linked to another team that is competing on the grid limits their chances of success. The team has had to share a wind tunnel with Mercedes, from whom they source engines, before finally building their own.

To establish themselves as a fully functioning separate team, it is important for the Silverstone squad to cut all ties with Mercedes, the German giants who supply their engines. To do so, the team is set to partner up with Honda for the 2026 season, which will return to the sport as engine suppliers.

Historically, customer teams have been unable to beat the main manufacturer teams. However, that is not currently the case with Aston Martin and Mercedes in 2023. The Brackley-based team is currently struggling compared to their customers from Silverstone, who sit behind Red Bull in second place.

Furthermore, it makes sense for teams to leave their supplying teams when the supplying team itself is going through some difficulties.

While this is perhaps not true for Mercedes, given that their problems are not engine-related, it will play into Aston Martin's hands in the future to establish itself as an autonomous entity.

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Lance Stroll's Aston Martin seat is not in danger, claims F1 pundit

F1 analyst Peter Windsor holds the belief that Lance Stroll's position at Aston Martin will never be at risk due to his father, Lawrence Stroll, ensuring his son's ongoing presence in the team.

Despite having the advantage of driving the second-fastest car on the grid, the Canadian driver has delivered underwhelming performances thus far.

Stroll has been unable to extract the same level of performance from his AMR23 as his significantly more experienced teammate, Fernando Alonso, who has secured four podium finishes out of five races this season.

Typically, lackluster performances like Stroll's would place a driver's seat in jeopardy. However, according to Peter Windsor, due to Lance Stroll's father's ownership of Aston Martin, it is highly likely that he will retain his position for the foreseeable future.

Windsor said about Stroll on his YouTube channel:

"I think that team is built for Lance and if Lance tomorrow decided that he didn't want to race Formula One anymore and wanted to go rallying or downhill skiing, I don't think Lawrence Stroll would continue to much longer to own that team."

It will be interesting to follow Stroll's career, especially in 2026, when Honda will begin supplying engines to the Silverstone-based team.