F1 expert makes grim Honda prediction that means Aston Martin may need a Plan B

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Aston Martin

F1 expert makes grim Honda prediction that means Aston Martin may need a Plan B

It's been a tough season so far

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson F1 Editor

Motorsport journalist covering F1 since 2024

Thursday 27 August 2026 21:45

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Aston Martin have endured a rough start to their new relationship with Honda, and F1 expert and former race engineer Mark Slade believes it could be a long time before the Japanese manufacturer gets things right.

Aston Martin and Honda agreed a power unit deal ahead of F1's new regulations, and there were great hopes that the team could have a successful campaign, particularly with Adrian Newey designing the car.

However, while there were issues with the design of the AMR26, Aston Martin were also faced with major problems from the Honda power unit in terms of performance and reliability. To start the season, the vibrations from the power unit even risked nerve damage to the hands of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.

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Thankfully for Aston Martin, under the ADUO system, Honda are able to make improvements, delivering their first power unit upgrade at the Dutch Grand Prix last time out, which followed a major aerodynamic overhaul at the race prior in Hungary.

Still, Slade isn't convinced that Honda will be competitive at the sharp end of F1 any time soon.

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Slade's bleak Honda prediction

In a recent appearance on the Peter Windsor YouTube Channel, Honda and Aston Martin's current situation was one that Slade touched upon, and it wasn't positive.

Slade believes that it could be three years before Honda gets things right when it comes to their power unit, particularly given their very poor starting point.

“If you remember, I said, I thought it was going to take two, three years, pre-season, and I still think that,” Slade explained.

“It's the nature of these things. It's very, very complicated, and when you're starting from such a weak position as Aston Martin seem to be in at the moment, I can’t see it turning around, you know, within the next six months that’s for sure.”

Slade: Aston should hire more people from Red Bull

One suggestion that Slade made was that Aston Martin should hire some of the people that Newey and Honda both worked with at Red Bull, in order to support the Aston Martin team principal when it comes to handling the Honda relationship.

Honda themselves have already taken that approach, bringing back the 'important' people who worked on their power unit during the Red Bull era on their side, and Slade thinks Aston Martin should follow a similar approach.

“When Red Bull picked up Honda [in 2019], I think there were people at Red Bull, presumably including Adrian, but there must have been more than that, who completely understood how to deal with Honda, and they did so much of a better job,” Slade added.

“But I think the important point is it wasn't just Adrian. I think there were other people at Red Bull who...basically, Aston Martin needs to hire those other people as well to work to get the best relationship.

“Because Adrian, he's never been the one to do the nitty-gritty stuff, and you might call that a weakness, fine, but it's just the way he is - he's always relied on other people to sort that side of things out, and it just seems that maybe he doesn't have that level of support at Aston Martin at the moment, sadly for them.”

Aston Martin plan B?

Of course, another option for Aston Martin if they want a more competitive power unit is to look beyond Honda, with four other power unit manufacturers in the sport at present in Mercedes, Ferrari, Audi and Red Bull-Ford.

Reports this week have even suggested that Aston Martin are exploring those options, with Spanish outlet SPORT claiming that Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has held meetings with Lawrence Stroll multiple times this season in Australia, Barcelona, and in the Netherlands.

However, despite those claims, GPFans understands that Stroll often holds meetings with other senior leaders of teams and team principals, of which Wolff is one.

Of course, only Wolff, Stroll and anybody else who was in the room during those reported meetings are privy to what was being discussed, but it would appear that the pair meeting itself was not something that is unusual.

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Simmey Hannifin Donaldson - F1 Editor

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