Aston Martin scolded for major Honda F1 blunder: 'They should all be sacked'

Adrian Newey in front of a sketch of an F1 car — Photo: © IMAGO

Aston Martin F1

'They should all be sacked': Aston Martin scolded for major Honda blunder

Why Aston Martin's crisis isn't entirely Honda's fault

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Sunday 22 March 2026 12:57

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Aston Martin's top F1 management have been scolded for their part in their 2026 woes, in a rare defence of Honda.

Honda have been on the receiving end of much of the blame in regards to Aston Martin's poor performance in 2026. Granted, when you've got vibrations emitting from your power unit that prevents drivers from completing a full grand prix distance, it's hard not to send the blame Sakura's way.

At the Australian Grand Prix, Adrian Newey gave a surprisingly frank account of Aston Martin's struggles, amongst which he delved into what really went wrong with Honda.

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When asked if Aston Martin were aware of the level of inexperience at Honda, he replied: "No, we weren't. We only really became aware of it kind of November of last year when we - Lawrence [Stroll], Andy Cowell and myself - went to Tokyo to discuss as rumours starting to suggest that their original target power they wouldn't achieve for race one.

"Out of that came the fact that many of the original workforce had not returned when they restarted."

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Newey excuses not met favourably

Now, writing for Autosport Web Japan, Andrew Garrison — described as 'beloved veteran in the motorsport world' — has scolded team principal Newey and chief strategy officer Andy Cowell.

He argues there's no excuse for their lack of knowledge about Honda's state of affairs, and even went as far to say that 'they should all be sacked."

He wrote: "What is most baffling about this whole affair is Newey’s ‘revelation’ that ‘it was not until last November that he became aware that many of the original staff had not returned when Honda began operations’.

"However, it is simply inconceivable that Lawrence Stroll (team owner) and Andy Cowell (Chief Strategy Officer) were unaware of the true state of affairs at Honda. Were Cowell and Aston Martin’s senior engineers not visiting HRC Sakura every month?

"If it took them 18 months to realise the facts, they should all be sacked. But, of course, in reality, Cowell and his team were fully aware of exactly what was going on."

F1 Aston Martin Adrian Newey Honda Andy Cowell