F1 2026: Honda release grim statement after Aston Martin meltdown

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Aston Martin

F1 2026: Honda release grim statement after Aston Martin meltdown

Honda have responded after Aston Martin's nightmare test

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Sunday 22 February 2026 19:40

Honda have shared their emphatic response to Aston Martin's testing woes, and the bottom line? They're not happy.

In Barcelona, you'd feel semi-guilty for judging Aston Martin's late arrival to the shakedown, featuring an all black livery that they'd ran out of time to paint.

However, when it came to the two weeks of testing in Bahrain, the situation didn't improve for Aston Martin, whose driver Lance Stroll admitted they were 'four seconds' behind their rivals.

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And then along came Thursday. Fernando Alonso was forced to stop on track during the afternoon session on the penultimate day, which was later confirmed as a battery-related issue. Honda and Aston Martin had to adapt their run plan on Friday, not only because of the battery issue, but also due to a shortage of power unit parts.

On their final day of testing in Bahrain, Aston Martin only competed six laps before they ended the session and left the test early, amid circulating images of Adrian Newey with his head in his hands.

Honda aims not met in Bahrain

Following Aston Martin and Honda's testing meltdown, the power unit manufacturer released a rather grim statement where they revealed they were 'not happy' with their output.

Trackside general manager and chief engineer at Honda Shintaro Orihara, said: "Our main target during this week’s test was to build up mileage on the power unit, check the engine reliability and gather data. We collected data successfully; however, we didn’t achieve the accumulated mileage that we were targeting.

"On Thursday, we identified an issue in the power unit, and all of us have been uniting efforts to find a solution during our last day of testing. Overnight and today, HRC Sakura, the AMRTC in Silverstone and our crews in Bahrain worked together on a limited run plan, which was jointly agreed considering a shortage of parts.

"It has been an enduring week, but we extend our thanks to the team for their support trackside and everyone working in Japan and the UK remotely. Overall, we are not happy with our performance and our reliability at the moment. However, we are all looking for solutions together in Sakura, Milton Keynes and Silverstone."

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