Adrian Newey issues Honda 'truth' in Red Bull-Aston Martin comparison

Adrian Newey has admitted that Honda's current power unit position with Aston Martin is behind where Red Bull found the Japanese manufacturer when the two parties first linked up in 2019.

Honda returned to Formula 1 as a power unit supplier for Aston Martin in 2026, taking over from Mercedes, and has endured a difficult start to the sport's new engine era.

Newey, now Aston Martin's managing technical partner and team principal, has drawn a direct comparison with Red Bull's own introduction to Honda power seven years ago, when the Milton Keynes-based team inherited an engine supplier that had already been working through its problems with the long-defunct McLaren partnership.

Asked whether Aston Martin's relationship with Honda echoes how Red Bull's started back in 2019, Newey told select media, including RacingNews365, that there was a key difference in timing.

"I would say, at the moment, in all truth, that Honda are a little bit behind where Red Bull, as the works team, RBR, picked up Honda in 2019, but that obviously was four seasons after they first came back in 2015," said Newey.

"So this is the first year back in. Repeating myself, they're a great company. I have every confidence that they will accelerate quickly and understand the problems of these particular PU regulations."

'Too early' for Honda 2027 performance prediction

Honda is already working hard on trying to get things right for its power unit next year, with Aston Martin not being able to afford another campaign of fighting at the back.

Newey was reluctant to put a number on the current gap between Aston Martin's chassis and Honda's power unit, pointing instead to publicly available data as the clearer measure.

"So I think the relative deficit between chassis and engine, I think, again, it's probably not for me to say," Newey added. "I think if people look at the GPS, then you can start to get a much better picture from that."

Turning to Honda's longer-term trajectory under the 2026 regulations, which remain in place through the following campaign, Newey said there were reasons for optimism further down the line.

"And then, moving forward to 2027, that's really as we discussed earlier. Honda, there's a lot of energy and projects on the way now that perhaps are in their early stages of development, but we see a lot of promise from those.

"It's too early to comment on exactly where the PU will be at the start of next season, and whether then, assuming it's allowed under the PUAC, there will be further development for what will be race eight at the end of the first period."