It is not uncommon for the smaller teams in Formula 1 to purchase parts from the front runners, as both teams look for a mutually beneficial relationship.
Haas and Alfa Romeo enjoy this type of relationship with Ferrari while AlphaTauri obviously hold a strong partnership with their sister team Red Bull.
Since rebranding from Racing Point in 2021, Aston Martin have maintained a health relationship with Mercedes, being powered by the Silver Arrows and purchasing key parts such as the gearbox from Toto Wolff’s team.
While Mercedes have been nothing but reliable in their partnership with Aston Martin, team principal Mike Krack has explained why it may be beneficial for his team to begin to go their own way and create their own parts.
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“When you have the ability to make everything yourself, you can make things faster and if you can, make them also cheaper,” Krack told reporters.
“It means that you can make more or you can have maybe one or two upgrades more than before due to time and also due to financial reasons. So from that point of view, I think it’s a good step.”
Aston Martin’s technical director Dan Fallows, who previously worked at Red Bull, has agreed with his boss, suggesting that while Mercedes have never let the team down, an independent pathway may be the key to success for Aston Martin.
“I think we’re pretty open minded about that. What this team had gained from its relationship with [Mercedes] has been immense,” said Fallows.
“As we move into the future and do things our own way, or take on our own projects, we’re very mindful that we have to be able to do them at least as well if not better than they do.
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“That’s a capability that we would have to build up before we even talk about making those decisions.”
As the cost cap and other initiative introduced by the FIA to bring the field closer together begin to pay dividends, it would not be a surprise to see more teams take an idependant path in the future.
It would become increasingly dangerous for teams such as Mercedes to supply parts for other teams if the grid closes up and the likes of Aston Martin come in direct competition for places with their parts suppliers.