Aston Martin wanted a Honda engine for their DTM project
F1 News
Aston Martin are the title sponsor of the Formula 1 team Red Bull Racing but also race in DTM. There was talk of Honda supplying Aston Martin with an engine for their DTM car but the Japanese company didn't seem to want to do this. According to Aston Martin this was purely Honda's decision as they wanted Honda to supply their engine.
Andy Palmer from Aston Martin said to Motorsport.com: "We have also accepted Honda as an engine partner in Formula 1, so why should we not do so in the DTM? We focus with our company on the design and beauty of the car.
"If we had been Ferrari, that would have been our spearhead, but we are concerned with the artistic. The engine must achieve the required goals and sound good, but if Honda had been a serious option, it would not have harmed us. It would have been great."
As Honda are not interested in the project, Aston Martin will likely use a HWA power source which is part of Mercedes. Red Bull Technology was originally going to work with Honda and Aston Martin in the DTM but due to Honda not being involved, Red Bull didn't want to work with Mercedes on the project.
"We were also not interested in working with a - more or less - Mercedes team. Our relationship with Mercedes is not good enough for such a collaboration," said Helmut Marko at the beginning of this year.
It seems that Honda wants to focus purely on Formula 1 and creating the best engine they can to succeed at the pinnacle of motorsport.