While rac🐻ing for McLaren during Honda’s disastrous three-year partnership with Ho🌸nda, Alonso publicly criticised the Japanese manufacturer at their home race in 2015 when he referred to their power unit as a “GP2 engine”. 

Alonso’s scathing complaints caused his relationship with Honda to become frayed, but Honda Racing Corporation president Koji Watanabe said a possible reunion with the two-time world champion 11 years after his famous ༺radio outburst would not be blocked. 

“The selection of drivers is up to the team to decide,” Watanabe said following confirmation of a 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:works F1 partnership wi�💧�th Aston Martin from 2026. 

“So, if the team decides we’ll have Alonso as a driver again, we will have no objections whatꦦsoever on him driving.”

Watanabe continued: “We respect hܫim [Aꩵlonso] highly.

“With respect to the driver selection, I will not say we’re not going to be involved in team management whatsoever but thᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚe decision of the drivers is up to the team.

“Of course we will be gi♒ving them suggestions or input.”

🌼Current Honda CEO Toshiro Mibe added that “the past is the past”. 

It is unclear at this stage whether Alonso, who is 🔯in the first season of a two-year deal with Aston Martin, would even be interested in continuing to race in F1 for that long. 

The Spaniard turns 42 in July and would be 44 by the time Honda’s partneꩵrship with the Silverstone-based outfit begins.

“Clearly Fernand🐈o is doing a great job and I’m delighted to have him as part of our team as he’s making a great contribution both on and off the track,” Aston Marti♋n group CEO Martin Whitmarsh said. 

“I sp꧟oke to Fernando a while ago about the direction we wanted to go. He’s a very inte﷽lligent individual. I’m sure everyone here is referring to some comments that were made in the heat of the battle, which were quite memorable, but he understands and respects what Honda is doing.

“Honda won the 2021 and 2022 world championships and unless we c𓄧an beat them this year, they’re going to do it again. So they are a great partner for us and I think Fernando sees that.

“2026 is ꦛprobably outside his planning horizon at the moment.

“We’ve got to give him a car that is consistently capable of winning races. We’ve ma𒀰de a reasonable step forward this year, we’re not yet where we need to be but we’re continuing to develop the team’s facilities and we’ll get stronger.

“We’ll have a discussion ꦦbefore 2026, I’m sure, about where Fernando’s future lies. I hope he’ll be around for a number of years and it would be great if he’s as fit and competitive as he is today. Then it would be fantastic to have him in the car in 2026 as well."