Honda expert predicts major leap forward for Aston Martin with Fernando Alonso future hanging in the balance

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Aston Martin F1

Honda expert predicts major leap forward for Aston Martin with Alonso future hanging in the balance

Aston Martin could soon be Q3 regulars

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Tuesday 18 August 2026 18:45 Updated: 18:51

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Honda expert Yasuaki Asaki expects Aston Martin to take a major leap forward this week when they get the first major upgrade to their much-maligned 2026 power unit.

The expensively-assembled team, headed by design genius Adrian Newey, have endured embarrassing struggles in the first half of the season.

Some of those struggles came courtesy of a power unit which not only lagged behind its rivals for raw speed, but also caused vibrations so bad that they risked permanent nerve damage to drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.

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A major chassis upgrade package (16 changes in total) saw Aston take a significant step forward at the recent Hungarian Grand Prix. Now all eyes are on what Honda can bring to the party this weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix.

The upgrade, the first for Honda under F1's new ADUO benchmarking rules, is expected to bring improvement to Aston Martin's lap times, but just how much?

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Asaki assesses Honda challenges

Asaki became a Honda legend as he worked in senior positions for the company over a period of 42 years, and headed up development on the 2021 car which enabled Max Verstappen to win his first world title at Red Bull.

Given his massive experience with the company, he is perfectly placed to assess the challenges they have faced, and look at what results can be expected next.

He told Japanese outlet Sportiva: "If you want to catch up to your rivals who are ahead of you, they will also increase their horsepower over time, so you need to improve your own performance at a steeper rate than them. Otherwise, you'll never catch up to them. You can only catch up by improving your performance at a steeper rate than your opponents.

"Increasing the angle of improvement means 'number of tests × test success rate'. If we come up with new ideas, increase the test success rate, and make the angle of performance improvement steeper, we will eventually catch up.

"However, we currently have a budget cap, so we cannot afford to do any unnecessary development. I think it will come down to the success rate of each individual idea.

"However, Honda hasn't reached that point yet. To reiterate, I think they're at a stage where they're being tested on how quickly they can return to where they used to be."

What will the upgrade mean for Aston Martin?

The results this weekend in Holland are under even more scrutiny than usual, as Honda's update could yet decide the F1 future of two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.

The 45-year-old Spaniard is currently considering whether he should sign a new contract with Aston Martin, move to a different team or simply retire from the sport. Honda's progress will likely be key to his final decision.

Fernando Alonso will have a keen eye on Honda's performance.

Asaki said: "If this PU update allows Honda to consistently compete in the midfield, that would be a great success.

"The chassis update has significantly improved competitiveness, and Fernando Alonso made it to Q2 in qualifying at the Hungarian GP for the first time this season.

"Since he's gotten that far without any PU updates, I hope he can aim for Q3 (top 10) from now on. The improved chassis has just been released, and I think further optimisation will continue. It wouldn't be surprising if it eventually becomes a regular in Q3."

Asaki has zero doubt that Honda will make Aston Martin a contender again, and soon.

He continued: "Honda experienced a setback in PU development this season, but I have no doubts about the capabilities. They have won numerous titles with Red Bull and set an unprecedented record of 21 wins in 22 races in 2023.

"I believe they will eventually be competing at the top level with Aston Martin, so I want to see them demonstrate the speed of their development now."

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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.

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