Fernando Alonso F1 blow as Honda chief delivers Aston Martin reality check

Aston Martin

Fernando Alonso F1 blow as Honda chief delivers Aston Martin reality check

It's been a rough year for the team so far

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson F1 Editor

Motorsport journalist covering F1 since 2024

Monday 17 August 2026 09:00

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Fernando Alonso's hopes of winning more F1 races and titles with Aston Martin have been dealt a blow by a reality check from Chief Honda engineer Shintaro Orihara.

With Alonso in the car, Honda on board as power unit supplier, and Adrian Newey designing the AMR26, Aston Martin thought they had assembled the F1 dream team heading into the 2026 campaign, but things have not turned out like that.

Issues with both the power unit and the design of the AMR26 have left the team looking back on a disastrous first half of the season, sitting 10th in the constructors' standings with just a single point on the board.

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Before the summer break, a major upgrade package offered hope that the team could be more competitive for the remainder of the season, with an upgrade to their Honda power unit set to come into play at the Dutch Grand Prix next weekend.

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However, chief Honda engineer Orihara has warned that it won't fix all of the team's problems, and that it could be as late as 2028 before Honda are a top competitor in terms of power.

"After the summer shutdown, we want to go back to the racing field," Orihara told Motorsport.com.

"And then we are working hard in the factory to bring an even bigger step for 2027, but, again, we should be realistic.

"So, I think that at the beginning of 2027, maybe we will not have the best of the power units yet, but we will be closer to the top competitor. And then we keep pushing hard to be top competitor, I hope, in 2027 or 2028."

That is exactly what Alonso would not want to hear, with the Spaniard having recently turned 45 years old, meaning he will turn 47 during the 2028 season.

F1's controversial new regulations and a struggling car have already left Alonso reportedly considering his future in the sport, and having to put up with an underperforming car for another two years would certainly be a major disappointment and make it hard to add to his two world championships and 32 grands prix victories.

Adrian Newey has a big job on his hands to turn things around at Aston Martin / Credit: Imago

Honda working closely with Aston Martin for 2027

Still, if Alonso does stick around until next year, he may at least have a more competitive car than the AMR26 has been.

Orihara has confirmed that Honda is working closely with Aston Martin ahead of the 2027 campaign, with a focus on optimising their car for the Honda power unit.

"For 2027, we have slightly different regulations for the fuel flow rate, but still our development programme is the same. We need to improve our combustion performance even further," he added.

"So, we will still focus on improving the performance of our combustion engine, and we want to bring some bigger steps for that in 2027. That is our main focus point.

"We are talking closely with Aston Martin to integrate our power unit better into their new chassis. So, yes, we are now focusing on developing a good engine for 2027 and also working closely with Aston Martin behind the scenes."