F1 2026: Why working with Honda is either heaven or hell

Split image of Newey with devil horns in Honda hell and Horner with halo in Honda heaven — Photo: © IMAGO

Aston Martin

Why working with Honda in F1 is either heaven or hell

Aston Martin's Honda partnership has not got off to the best of starts

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 23 February 2026 13:57

When previewing the 2026 F1 season a few weeks ago, Aston Martin's new power unit partnership with Honda was billed as a reason why they might be able to challenge for the championship with Fernando Alonso.

That, alongside the hiring of design legend Adrian Newey, was thought to be a partnership which could really propel the outfit to the next level having finished down in seventh in the constructors' championship last year.

But after a disastrous pre-season testing campaign, seventh looks like it would be a fantastic result for Aston Martin in 2026, while their power unit partnership with Honda is already being torn into by F1 pundits and fans alike.

Article continues under video

Honda released a statement during the final day of pre-season testing in Bahrain to state there was an issue with the battery which meant they would be limited to short runs during the day. Lance Stroll completed just six untimed laps.

The day before, two-time world champion Alonso had also suffered problems in the AMR26, while comments from Stroll during the first week of testing in Bahrain suggested the team were as much as four seconds off the top teams.

But should we have seen this coming from Honda? The same Honda who - despite claiming two constructors' championships during their partnership with Red Bull - have very much been seen as a hit and miss kind of power unit manufacturer.

From the sublime...

In 1986 and 1987, Honda-powered Williams cars claimed back-to-back constructors' championships, with Nelson Piquet winning his third drivers' title in that period.

The Japanese car manufacturers then jumped straight into their most fruitful ever period in F1, winning four consecutive constructors' championships with McLaren, taking their consecutive championship tally up to six following the Williams successes.

Honda engines were considered the ticket to grand prix glory in this period, mainly due to their power, reliability, and winning track record, and F1 legend Ayrton Senna won all three of his championships in Honda-powered McLarens.

After 1991, however, it would be 31 years before a Honda-powered car won a constructors' championship, with Red Bull in 2022. Even this, however, came after Honda had decided to withdraw from F1, and the 2022 power unit was considered a 'rebadged' Honda power unit.

...To the ridiculous

That 31 years featured 15 seasons in which Honda were not in the sport altogether, eight years between 1992 and 2000 and seven years between 2008 and 2015.

The Honda projects that were ago during this period, however, were not anywhere near as successful as the McLaren and Williams glory days.

Honda returned in 2000 in partnership with BAR, while also then taking on Jordan as a customer in 2001 and 2002. Overall, this period lasted between 2000 and 2005, and there was not a single race win in there for either BAR or Jordan - although the 2004 season was fruitful for Honda, with 11 podiums being celebrated and a second-place constructors' championship finish for BAR.

Ahead of the 2006 season, Honda became an F1 team in their own right, buying out the remaining 55 per cent share in the BAR team. This yielded one grand prix win in three seasons, while 2008 was particularly bad, with Honda finishing ninth in the constructors' championship, and the team going bankrupt amid the 2008 financial crisis.

Honda did not return to F1 until 2015, but this was arguably their most embarrassing project yet.

Why did Honda fail with McLaren second time around?

Honda paired up with McLaren once again in 2015, helping the team as the hybrid era of F1 found its feet.

McLaren had an all-star driver lineup of Alonso and Jenson Button, and there were high expectations in the years to come.

But Honda and McLaren's issues were immediately visible during pre-season testing in 2015, when the McLaren car kept on breaking down, in similar fashion to Aston Martin this year.

The partnership yielded a ninth-place constructors' championship finish in 2015, with reasons for this including Honda lacking experience and data with the new regulations, as well as there being fundamental issues with McLaren's 'size zero' chassis concept.

McLaren went on to finish an improved sixth in 2016, before falling to ninth again in 2017. The Honda partnership came to an end, and they instead moved on to power Red Bull-branded cars.

Aston Martin will hope that their Honda partnership is not destined for the same fate as McLaren the second time around.

How many world championships do Honda have in F1?

Officially, Honda have won six constructors' championships, four drivers' championships and 89 grands prix in F1.

But Red Bull's 2022 and 2023 constructors' championships, as well as Verstappen's titles in 2022, 2023 and 2024 were all earned with the help of Honda, with Red Bull's record breaking 2023 car having a Honda-Red Bull Powertrains-crafted power unit, which was created in tandem between the two departments.

Written by

Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

View full biography

F1 Red Bull McLaren Aston Martin Honda