Honda’s concerning F1 2026 admission is bad news for Aston Martin

Honda have admitted that “not everything is going well” with their return to F1.

After technically leaving F1 at the end of 2021, the Japanese manufacturer is making a full-scale comeback this year as part of an exclusive power unit collaboration with Aston Martin.

There is huge excitement and expectation surrounding the tie-up with some tipping Aston Martin and Honda to be a potentially championship-winning combination under F1’s regulation reset in 2026, particularly given the involvement of legendary designer Adrian Newey.

But Honda Racing’s president Koji Watanabe has moved to downplay expectations ahead of the campaign.

“Given the uncertainty surrounding rival manufacturers’ progress, it remains a battle to see how close we can get to our own self-imposed targets. Frankly, we still need more time,” Watanabe told Japanese publication Sportiva.

“We’re advancing development by incrementally assessing performance gains from integrating various components. Some prove successful, others fail unexpectedly – it’s a mixed bag.”

Watanabe went on to add: “To be honest, not everything is going well, so there are many areas where we are struggling, but nothing fatal has happened that we cannot overcome.

“In this situation, we are quietly concentrating on improving performance and reliability.

“Aston Martin also wants to keep building cars that reflect Adrian’s vision, so I think the next step for us on the power unit side is to figure out how to adapt to that.

“If doing so increases our competitiveness and makes us more likely to win, then we’ll do whatever it takes!”

It is the latest concern to emerge from the Aston Martin-Honda partnership.

Reports over the winter have suggested that Honda missed a trick with a rule loophole regarding the new 2026 engines that could hand a key advantage to rival manufacturers Mercedes and Red Bull Powertrains.

It is believed that Mercedes and Red Bull Powertrains will be able to unlock more performance by achieving a higher compression ratio than rivals think the regulations permit.

There have been other claims about Honda’s 2026 engine being behind the curve compared to its rivals and that not all has gone smoothly behind the scenes at Sakura.

The 2026 Honda engine will be unveiled during an event on 20 January.