Why Fernando Alonso's "GP2 engine" rants were not a point of debate in Aston Martin-Honda partnership negotiations

Fernando Alonso and his 'GP2 engine" rant was not a part of the discussion during the Aston Martin-Honda partnership negotiations. One of the major reasons behind it was, on one hand, the Japanese brand looking to keep itself away from the discussion of the driver lineup and on the other, the British team backing the sensibility from the Spaniard.

The whole GP2 engine rant was a culmination of a woeful time for Honda as McLaren's power unit supplier. The Japanese brand, working under very specific conditions, was unable to put together a power unit that was even decently competitive.

As a result, after months of toil, Fernando Alonso lost his cool in the race at the 2015 F1 Japanese GP and said those infamous words in Honda's home race.

Since that time, Honda's association with McLaren ended and the new one with Red Bull has proven to be a huge success. Powering the fastest car on the grid gave Honda the opportunity to showcase excellence and proved to be a platform for the Aston Martin partnership. So much so that Honda doesn't seem to have a problem with Fernando Alonso driving for the Silverstone-based squad either.

Asked if Honda would allow Alonso to race one of its cars, Honda Racing Corporation president Koji Watanabe said:

"If we are to team up with Alonso again, as our driver, we have no objections whatsoever in him driving. Our stance remains unchanged and I think the selection of race drivers is fully up to the team, and not something that a power unit supplier like us is supposed to be making. We will be leaving the driver selection to the team."

Fernando Alonso is a very intelligent individual: Martin Whitmarsh

When questioned if an association with Honda was a source of friction for Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Performance Technologies CEO Martin Whitmarsh claimed there wasn't anything of the sort.

He said that the Spaniard was very intelligent and there wasn't anything objection when this was mentioned to him a while back. He said (via Motorsport.com):

"No, it wasn't. Clearly, Fernando's doing a great job in the team, and we are delighted to have him as part of our team. He's making a great contribution both on and off the track. Obviously, I spoke to Fernando a little while ago about the direction that we intended to go. He's a very intelligent individual."

The Alonso-Honda feud is somewhat blown out of proportion by the looks of it. The Spaniard's lashing out and everything that followed afterward was a result of a horror show from the Japanese brand. Such a thing should not be expected from Honda this time around.