Verstappen: Losing Honda to Aston Martin in F1 2026 “a bit of a shame”

Earlier this week Honda announced they would be returning to the sport as an engine manufacturer with Aston Martin.

It comes just under three years after Honda announced they would be leaving.

Honda have remained involved in F1, with Red Bull continuing to run their power unit albeit under the RBPT-Honda guise. 

It appears Honda regretted their decision to leave the sport, particularly after how impressive their power unit is.

Speaking ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend, Verstappen was asked for his thoughts on Honda’s return.

“From our side, of course, it’s a bit unfortunate how all of that turned out,” he said.

“Because, a few years ago, they said they were going to stop. So then Red Bull sets up its own engine division, and then, at one point, they said ‘No, we continue’.

“Unfortunately, once you’re already in the process of building a whole engine yourself, you can’t really work together anymore. Yeah, it’s a bit of a shame, I would say.

“We always have and had a really good relationship with them. Seeing them go to Aston Martin, it’s a bit of a shame."

Verstappen believes it’s great news for Aston Martin and their prospects of title glory in 2026.

“But I mean we are also very excited from our side, from 2026 onwards, what’s going to happen together with Ford,” he added.

• Why Honda F1 engine deal transforms Aston Martin

“It is what it is. A few years ago, we thought they were going to leave and, nowadays, they’ve stayed and are going with Aston Martin.

“For Aston Martin, it’s really good. I mean, they have a great engine. We all know that. So it’s what it is. I loved working with them. We’ve had a lot of success already.

“So, of course, I will be sad to see them go but we already expected that because they said they were going to pull out.

“So we already had a kind of goodbye. Of course, I’m happy for the 100 people that they stay in F1, but sad to see them go.”