Aston Martin’s Honda power unit has gained performance through its 2026 Formula 1 upgrades, but the improvements have come at a significant cost to driveability. Changes to the combustion process have brought back problems that the Japanese manufacturer had previously worked to resolve, leaving Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll struggling to extract the full potential of the AMR26. The situation represents another serious concern for Adrian Newey and the Silverstone team as attention increasingly turns towards 2027.
Honda’s return as a full works engine manufacturer under Formula 1’s new technical regulations has proved far more difficult than expected. The Japanese company began the season with a substantial deficit to its rivals, and although two development specifications have improved engine performance, Aston Martin remains considerably less competitive than anticipated. The difficulties have also fuelled speculation about Lawrence Stroll’s satisfaction with the partnership and whether the team could eventually explore alternative engine suppliers.
A potential return to Mercedes power units, or an agreement with another manufacturer, cannot be completely ruled out, although there is no indication that such a change is currently being actively pursued. Lawrence Stroll continues to believe in Aston Martin’s works partnership with Honda, but expects significant progress in 2027.
Adrian Newey is also hoping for stronger support from the Japanese manufacturer. The renowned designer needs a more competitive and predictable power unit to demonstrate the potential of his AMR26, which has fallen dramatically short of expectations and has frequently been able to compete only with newcomer Cadillac.
Honda admits its 2026 F1 engine development started almost two years behind
One of Honda’s biggest challenges has been the scale of its original power deficit. Early estimates suggested that its internal combustion engine was approximately 90–100 horsepower behind the leading manufacturer, making additional development opportunities under the FIA’s ADUO system essential.
Honda was granted access to the maximum available development opportunities, while the FIA also adjusted the regulations to provide additional assistance to manufacturers facing particularly large performance deficits.
The Japanese manufacturer subsequently introduced two different power unit specifications during the season. The first development arrived at Zandvoort, while the second was introduced around the Madrid and Baku races, as Honda continued trying to close the gap.
“Our main problem is precisely the lack of power compared with the others. That is why, with the ADUO-2 upgrade, we aimed to increase it gradually,” explained Koji Watanabe, president of Honda Racing Corporation, in an interview with Motorsport.com.
However, the problems extend beyond the design of the engine itself. Honda’s relatively late decision to return fully to Formula 1 under the 2026 regulations put the company at a disadvantage compared with manufacturers that had committed to their projects earlier.
Unlike Audi, which organised its Formula 1 entry well in advance, Honda only confirmed its return after lengthy discussions with Aston Martin. That decision came while the Japanese organisation was still rebuilding its Formula 1 operation following the end of its previous partnership with Red Bull.
“When we announced our return to Formula 1 in 2023, we did so a year later than the others, and it took time to establish the working systems. That is why we lost almost two years,” Koji Watanabe acknowledged.
The delay was compounded by the loss of experienced personnel and the need to reorganise facilities. Honda also had to rebuild aspects of its development infrastructure, making it difficult to recover the lost ground within the restricted testing and development framework of modern Formula 1.
The difficulties are particularly apparent when compared with Ferrari and Audi, which began the new regulatory cycle with more established development programmes but have still encountered significant challenges. As Ferrari’s own 2026 power unit development challenges illustrate, recovering performance under the current regulations is far from straightforward.
Honda’s ADUO upgrades improved engine power but worsened driveability
Although Honda has made measurable progress during 2026, improvements in one area have often been accompanied by setbacks elsewhere. The manufacturer’s attempts to increase power have created fresh difficulties with driveability, reducing the overall benefit of the changes.
From the beginning of the season, Aston Martin identified the Honda power unit as one of its principal weaknesses. The problems involved not only outright power and electrical energy deployment, but also the consistency and predictability of power delivery.
The early development programme focused heavily on reducing vibrations, improving driveability and learning how to manage energy more efficiently. Those efforts produced some improvements, raising expectations that the subsequent ADUO upgrades would finally provide the additional horsepower needed to make the AMR26 more competitive.
Earlier estimates suggested that Honda might reduce its initial 90–100 horsepower deficit to approximately 50–60 horsepower during the season. However, the expected improvement in engine performance has not translated into an equivalent reduction in lap times.
Honda used its second ADUO opportunity to introduce a new turbocharger at the Madrid Grand Prix, building on the work carried out with the first updated engine specification. The objective was to increase the AMR26’s power output and address some of the limitations affecting its competitiveness.
Despite the additional power, Aston Martin did not experience the expected breakthrough on track. Changes intended to improve one aspect of the engine brought back problems that Honda’s engineers had previously managed to reduce.
Koji Watanabe explained that modifying the combustion process had compromised driveability, effectively undoing some of the progress achieved earlier in the year.
“We managed to achieve the power we had set as our target, but because we made some changes to the combustion process, driveability returned to something similar to what we experienced in the early stages,” Koji Watanabe admitted.
The admission highlights a fundamental difficulty in modern Formula 1 power unit development. Producing more power is not sufficient if the driver cannot exploit it consistently, particularly when the delivery of combustion-engine torque must work in harmony with the hybrid system.
Fernando Alonso’s Singapore struggles expose Aston Martin’s Honda problems
The consequences became particularly apparent at the Singapore Grand Prix, where Aston Martin had hoped the AMR26’s chassis characteristics would allow it to deliver a more competitive performance.
Marina Bay is generally considered a circuit where mechanical grip, chassis performance and aerodynamic efficiency have a greater influence than outright engine power. Adrian Newey’s extensive development work had also suggested that the Aston Martin could perform at a level closer to the fifth- or sixth-fastest car through the corners.
However, the AMR26 failed to demonstrate those expected qualities in Singapore. In a Formula 1 era where the relationship between the power unit and the chassis is particularly important, Honda’s continuing difficulties once again limited the car’s overall performance.
Fernando Alonso expressed his frustration during the Grand Prix through a team radio message reminiscent of his famous “GP2 engine” criticism from his earlier years with Honda, although his latest remarks were more restrained.
The incident underlined that the Japanese manufacturer’s power deficit remains unresolved, but the problems affecting Aston Martin are not limited to horsepower alone.
Poor driveability is particularly damaging through slower corners, where predictable torque delivery and a stable response to throttle inputs are essential. If the power unit does not respond consistently, drivers struggle to exploit the grip available from the chassis, regardless of its underlying aerodynamic potential.
That weakness could also prove costly at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, where several slower sections demand strong traction and controlled acceleration.
Despite extensive development work on the test benches, in Honda’s facilities and at the circuit, the manufacturer has not yet found a complete solution. The additional power that has been developed remains difficult to exploit, while the regression in driveability has undermined Aston Martin’s attempts to improve its competitiveness.
Adrian Newey and Aston Martin face major Honda questions ahead of 2027
The situation raises serious questions about Aston Martin’s prospects for the 2027 Formula 1 season. Adrian Newey remains personally involved in trying to revive the technical project, but its success depends heavily on receiving a more competitive and dependable power unit from Honda.
Honda’s recent development work has demonstrated that additional engine performance is possible. Nevertheless, the manufacturer must find a way to deliver those gains without introducing new driveability problems that compromise the car’s behaviour on track.
That challenge is made more difficult by the restrictions governing power unit development and the time required to validate changes to combustion, turbocharging and energy management.
For Lawrence Stroll, the ambition remains to establish Aston Martin as a genuine works team capable of competing at the front of Formula 1. Achieving that objective will require both Adrian Newey’s chassis programme and Honda’s engine development to progress together.
After such a disappointing first season under the new regulations, another campaign of similar difficulties would place considerable pressure on the partnership. Honda therefore faces an important period in which it must improve not only outright engine power, but also the consistency, reliability and driveability required to make those gains useful.
The message emerging from the 2026 season is increasingly clear: Aston Martin cannot solve its problems through additional horsepower alone. Unless Honda can restore predictable power delivery while continuing to reduce its performance deficit, the AMR26’s limitations may carry over into 2027, regardless of the progress made by Adrian Newey’s technical department.
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