Honda under pressure to find Aston Martin solution with just ONE WEEK to FIA deadline

Honda and Aston Martin are under immense pressure to fix the issues with their F1 chassis and power unit as an FIA deadline looms ever closer.

Aston Martin's woes have been the major storyline from F1 testing, beginning with their late arrival to the Barcelona shakedown and compounded further by their slow times in Bahrain.

On Thursday afternoon in Bahrain, Fernando Alonso stopped on track due to a battery-related problem with the Honda power unit. It was then revealed there was also a shortage of parts for the power unit, and both bases back at Sakura and Silverstone worked on a limited run plan on Friday.

This run plan saw Aston Martin complete just six laps on the final day of testing, before they departed Bahrain early to focus on a solution to the power unit and chassis issues. Aston Martin emerged from winter testing with the least amount of mileage of all 11 teams, a startling indication of just how far behind their rivals they are.

Although the official line from Honda is the battery issue and their shortage of parts, there are alternative reports that suggest they are suffering from insufficient engine cooling with the power unit being constricted by the aerodynamic design.

The internal combustion engine has also come under scrutiny alongside Honda's limited electrical power on the straights, the latter rumoured to be in place to prevent engine failure.

All of these issues, both confirmed and rumoured, puts immense pressure on Honda and Aston Martin. Even more so with an impending FIA deadline.

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Honda faces homologation deadline

By March 1, all five of the 2026 power unit manufacturers must submit homologation dossiers for their new designs to the FIA, F1's governing body, who will approve compliant designs within 14 days of submission.

These FIA regulations are in place to limit when and how manufacturers are allowed to make changes to their power unit, to ensure fairness, reliability and cost control.

Crucially for Honda and Aston Martin, once a power unit has been homologated (officially tested and certified as appropriate for competition by the FIA) only certain changes are allowed which are subject to an extensive approval process.

So, Honda face a tight deadline of just one week to remedy their power unit issues before they are required to submit the March 1 dossier. After then, it will be a lot more difficult for them to make changes as they have to seek approval.

Aston Martin are already on the back foot due to the fact they are having to tackle the brand new F1 power unit regulations without the data from any customer teams, with their already insufficient battery under further strain due to the increased focus on electrical energy in 2026.

Manufacturers like Ferrari and Mercedes do have this advantage thanks to supplying power units to multiple rivals on the grid, but all may not be lost for Aston Martin if Honda fail to solve their issues by the deadline, as the FIA has introduced ADUO (Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities).

ADUO is a safety net for struggling power unit manufacturers, allowing them to introduce upgrades, but only after engine performance has been measured after three specific periods - races 1-6 (Miami), 7-12 (Belgium) and 13-18 (Singapore).

If the FIA decides that a power unit manufacturer is between 2 per cent and 4 per cent off the best performance, then it will be granted one additional upgrade in-season. Alternatively, if it's more than 4 per cent off then it will receive two upgrades.

These upgrades may come too little too late for Honda and Aston Martin however, and to fall back on such aid would be a stark indicator of just how poorly Adrian Newey's squad have started the new era.

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