F1 News: Bombshell new Honda report claims true extent of Aston Martin power vacuum

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Aston Martin F1

Bombshell new Honda report claims true extent of Aston Martin power vacuum

The Italian GP could be a tough weekend

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson F1 Editor

Motorsport journalist covering F1 since 2024

Wednesday 2 September 2026 08:58

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Honda's F1 power unit has been a real problem for Aston Martin so far in 2026, and now a fresh report out of Italy has dropped a bombshell claim about the challenge facing Adrian Newey and his team.

Honda joined Aston Martin as a supplier ahead of the 2026 campaign, with the new relationship coming into effect as the sport transitioned to a power unit which placed an increased importance on the battery component.

The Japanese giant had an incredibly successful period with Red Bull from 2019 through 2025, and so it seemed like a good move for Aston Martin as they continued their push to compete further up the F1 grid.

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However, in F1's new era, Honda has so far struggled to match their rivals. At the start of the year, there were fears that the vibrations from their power unit could cause nerve damage to Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll's hands, while they have also been down on power.

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Honda '70hp behind Mercedes'

As such, it has been a difficult year for Aston Martin, who have scored just three points in the opening 12 rounds of the season.

Two of those did come courtesy of Fernando Alonso last time out at the Dutch Grand Prix, however, where Honda delivered a new spec engine after development allowed under the ADUO system.

Still, the new spec power unit saw Aston Martin having to contend with driveability issues throughout the weekend in Zandvoort, and now Autoracer.it claim they know the full extent of Honda's problems.

According to the Italian outlet, even despite that upgrade last time out, Honda remains roughly 70 horsepower behind Mercedes, who are widely considered the benchmark when it comes to this year's overall power unit.

Autoracer claims that averages out to Aston Martin losing approximately 1.2 seconds per lap, with the report citing an engineer from Ferrari who believes it is a deficit that will take Honda multiple years to make up.

GPFans has contacted Aston Martin for comment.

Orihara: We have to be realistic

The report from Autoracer emerges as the sport heads to the Italian Grand Prix at Monza - a circuit notorious for its power demands.

Speaking ahead of the race, chief Honda engineer has already downplayed expectations from their power unit, which does not bode well for how the Aston Martin cars will perform in Italy.

“Monza is a unique circuit with one of the highest full-throttle ratios on the 2026 calendar, with its long straights and only 11 corners," explained Orihara.

"At this track, how you distribute the limited energy across these sections becomes crucial, and this is especially amplified in qualifying. The lap times at Monza are highly sensitive to power."

"With the introduction of our spec 2 engine in Zandvoort, we have made a step forward in terms of performance," Orihara added.

"But we need to be realistic about the upcoming weekend as we know that we are still behind our competitors in terms of overall power."