Honda is poised to play a role in determining Aston Martin's future driver lineup, perhaps even starting with the team's 2026 campaign.
Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll are both contracted for 2026, when they will pilot the first Aston Martin car designed by Adrian Newey. However, murmurs suggest Honda is keen to see Yuki Tsunoda in the team's green livery sooner rather than later.
Speculation is also growing about 43-year-old Alonso's longevity in F1 and whether Lance Stroll—noticeably off the pace at Suzuka—can hold his seat, despite his father Lawrence owning the outfit.
Dutch GP boss Jan Lammers sees a potential shift on the horizon. "I have had the idea for a long time that Max (Verstappen) and Aston Martin can do something together," he told Ziggo Sport.
"As soon as Lawrence Stroll has the idea that he can pry Max away from Red Bull, I think he will do what is necessary. He simply has that attitude."
Currently, Honda wields influence over driver choices at Red Bull, with four seats across the main team and Racing Bulls. At Aston Martin, however, Stroll's position appears secure under his father's stewardship, leaving just one cockpit open to Honda's input from next year.
"The number of seats will be reduced," Honda Racing Corporation president Koji Watanabe acknowledged to Japan Times. "Obviously the team has the final say in deciding which drivers join the team, but the situation will be the same (as at Red Bull) where we will have our say."
Separately, Watanabe confirmed that at an upcoming meeting in Bahrain, he will push for Formula 1 to stick with the planned 2026 engine regulations, resisting calls for a V10 revival.
"Our stance hasn't changed," he said. "Electric is important to us and that is the reason why we continue to join."
Reflecting on Honda's rocky start with hybrid power units at McLaren in 2015, Watanabe expressed optimism for 2026. "We had discontinued the project with Formula 1 so we were not prepared in 2015," he said.
"We started from zero. Now we're not starting from zero, so it is a smoother development."
