Adrian Newey nailed 'unheard of' Aston Martin upgrades, now the pressure is on Honda

We could be witnessing one of the great F1 comeback stories as Aston Martin bid to return to grid relevance in 2026. But there is still one missing piece to this particular jigsaw.

It has been a tumultuous start to the new regulations set for the Silverstone team, with all those lofty pre-season expectations falling spectacularly flat.

Ever since team principal Adrian Newey announced in Melbourne that the team's new Honda power unit had vibrations so bad that his drivers could not finish a race, Aston Martin have been reduced to a laughing stock.

A team expected to be towards the front of the grid in 2026 was instead near the back, several seconds off the pace and a lowly 10th in the Constructors' standings. Only new team Cadillac is beneath them.

It has been a painful watch for anybody associated with the team as they fell further and further behind their developing rivals while Newey and co put all their eggs into delivering one massive upgrade package.

That long-awaited package (16 upgrades in total) arrived at the recent Hungarian Grand Prix, and the effect was massive, returning Aston to some kind of relevance. The pace deficit halved overnight, and Fernando Alonso made it out of Q1 - rarified air after that disastrous start to 2026.

F1 HEADLINES: Lewis Hamilton gets major title boost as key figure leaves Mercedes

'Incredible' Newey upgrades delivered in a big way

BBC F1 insider Andrew Benson put into context just what Newey and Aston Martin were able to achieve in Hungary, telling the Chequered Flag podcast: "The reconstituted Aston Martin in Hungary - which was new in every respect apart from engine, gearbox and front suspension - was a massive step forward. Two seconds it looks like it lopped off their lap times.

“It’s unheard of to have that kind of upgrade in one go in the middle of the season. Still not up there with the best, but a massive step forward.

“Also really important in terms of proving out that Aston Martin can do upgrades and make them work, which has not been the case for three years - believe it or not."

So Newey, the sport's foremost design genius, is now delivering what Aston Martin expected when they hired him to a massive contract in 2025. Now it's time for Honda to follow suit.

All eyes are now on Honda at Zandvoort

F1's new power unit benchmarking system (ADUO for the more technically minded) gives teams upgrade tokens based on their early performance in 2026. Not surprisingly Honda are at the back of the pack, so they get two upgrades.

The first will arrive at the upcoming Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, and there is significant pressure on Honda to deliver, for one very special reason. That would be the F1 future of one Fernando Alonso.

The Spaniard turned 45 years old on July 29, and is currently pondering the last major decision of his career. Should he sign one last contract with Aston Martin for 2027 and beyond, should he move teams (Alpine have been linked) or should he retire?

The two-time world champion has been steadfast in his belief that Newey will deliver a chassis capable of challenging for race wins, but he has been bitten by Honda power units before. McLaren 2015 anyone?

Alonso 'wants evidence' Honda can deliver

According to Benson, Alonso wants proof that Honda are also heading in the right direction before he commits to the biggest remaining decision of his career. That proof should arrive in Zandvoort.

“Next step, new Honda engine in Zandvoort," the BBC insider explained.

"That won’t have anything like the performance uplift of the car. But they’re hoping for three, four, five tenths. If they can get that, then we’re suddenly talking about Aston Martin being close to Alpine, Racing Bulls, Audi kind of territory.

“And coming from where they were, that’s a huge achievement and it bodes well for 2027.

"But, on that Honda engine hangs a lot, because Fernando Alonso wants to see evidence that Honda are on the right track before he really commits to really making a decision on whether he stays in F1 for another year, or not.”

If the Honda upgrades do deliver the expected return, there is real hope that the Newey project can start to deliver what was expected when he arrived in a blaze of publicity.

The 67-year-old design genius has already teased more chassis changes to come for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku.

The message is loud and clear. Honda, it's over to you, time to join the party.

READ MORE: Wedding pending! Fans go wild for stunning Kim x Lewis photo drop

READ MORE: Toto Wolff handed massive payout as Mercedes announce stellar financial results

Written by

Graham Shaw - Consultant Editor

Digital sports leader with 30 years of senior level experience running global brands. Built sportinglife.com to be a behemoth in the UK as well as being in charge of the Planet Sport network of sites including planetf1.com, football365.com, teamtalk.com and planetrugby.com. Then grew goal.com to be the world's biggest soccer website in 18 languages and 37 territories. Was GM of Portals for Perform Group (now DAZN) with overall responsibility for sportingnews.com, spox.de and voetbalzone.nl.

View full biography

Related

More F1 news

Latest F1 news

Aston Martin F1 chief delivers update on Fernando Alonso future

• Today 10:55

Fernando Alonso calls F1 race 'embarrassing' under new rules as future talks continue

• Today 08:57

Kimi Antonelli avoids F1 penalty despite surprise engine change at Azerbaijan Grand Prix

• 36 minutes ago

F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve delivers incredible verdict on new Monaco sprint race

• 1 hour ago

Briatore to Ferrari? Controversial F1 legend on 'the lover everyone would love to have'

• 2 hours ago

FIA stewards investigate Lewis Hamilton after F1 rival blasts Ferrari star

• 3 hours ago