F1 News: Honda chief opens up on Aston Martin partnership and why 2026 is a major struggle

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Aston Martin

Honda chief opens up on Aston Martin partnership and why 2026 has been a major struggle

Aston Martin have had a disastrous start to 2026

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 22 June 2026 09:55 Updated: 10:02

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Honda Racing president Koji Watanabe has opened up on the Japanese car manufacturer's partnership with Aston Martin F1 team, explaining the difficulties they're having.

Honda and Aston Martin entered into a partnership at the beginning of 2026, with the Silverstone-based outfit using their power units from this season onwards amid the new regulations.

It came after Honda had originally broken away from Red Bull having supplied them for some of Max Verstappen's most successful seasons.

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But Aston Martin immediately picked up the Japanese car manufacturers as their partner, hoping that it would be a partnership that could power the team into contention for world championships.

However, Honda have experienced some rather embarrassing failures, with Lance Stroll and two-time world champion Fernando Alonso struggling to even finish races.

The Honda power unit lacks power compared to its rivals, as well as suffering from reliability issues. As a result, Aston Martin are currently 10th in the constructors' championship, with one point from the opening six race weekends of the season.

Now, Watanabe has explained how difficult it has been for them to dive into a new project with Aston Martin - having originally thought that they would not be a 2026 F1 power unit manufacturer.

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Watanabe recognises Aston Martin difficulties compared to Red Bull

"It is important to recognise that the current situation is fundamentally different from the time we worked together with Red Bull," Watanabe told F1.com.

"The regulation is quite difficult, it is a new partnership with Aston Martin, the fuel is Aramco - and a new partner - and the lubricant is Valvoline, [which is also] new. So everything [is] new for us and it's not easy."

Later, Watanabe continued: "The recovery from the delay caused by our previous withdrawal has taken time. So the late start of development, as well as the time required to rebuild necessary capacities and capabilities and bring back the required talent have been a significant factor."

There's no doubt that Honda and Aston Martin will not be happy with the team's measly points return so far, but turning that around in 2026 is likely to be difficult.

Design legend Adrian Newey is hoping to bring a lot of upgrades to the AMR26 in the coming months, so much so that people are beginning to call the upcoming chassis the AMR26B.

2027 is a more realistic goal for when we can expect to see Aston Martin challenging higher up the grid, but even then, it is unlikely to be the race-winning machine that team owner Lawrence Stroll and two-time world champion Alonso want it to be.

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