Aston Martin reminded of vital Honda factor in early F1 troubles

Aston Martin has been reminded that new engine partner Honda must be regarded "as a brand-new operation" after its early teething troubles in testing.

The Honda-powered AMR26 machine completed the fewest number of laps of any team in testing, with just 394 laps, as the team struggled with reliability concerns, especially with the battery of the complex new power units. 

On the Thursday of the final test, Fernando Alonso suffered a failure with three hours remaining and did not emerge, with Lance Stroll then limited to just six slow laps on the final day as the partnership tried to find solutions to the trouble. 

As RacingNews365 wrote earlier this week, and as confirmed by Honda, a problem with the battery being affected by 'abnormal vibrations' was causing damage to the parts. A solution is in the works for the Australian GP. 

However, whilst the 'Honda' name has returned to F1 for the 2026 rules, crucially, it is not the same Honda as competed with McLaren, Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri/Racing Bulls, and Red Bull between 2015 and 2021.

After the end of the 2021 season, in which Max Verstappen became the first Honda-powered world champion since Ayrton Senna in 1991, Honda withdrew from grand prix racing, preferring to put its focus elsewhere. 

Although a small crew was kept on to maintain and prepare the power units for Red Bull Powertrains, the Honda project was largely mothballed until it was enticed back for 2026, with the announcement coming in early 2024.

That means Honda has had to set up an entirely new power unit company and train engineers in the complex new systems, whilst rivals such as Mercedes HPP, and Ferrari have been able to continue seamlessly through the regulations changes.

This is a factor which former F1 driver and current Mercedes simulator driver Anthony Davidson believes should not be underestimated.

"I'm not a design engineer, but I see the car having to run more open in terms of its cooling; it is more than most at the moment, and it wasn't particularly hot in Bahrain," Davidson exclusively told RacingNews365. 

"But I would say that it is probably more that the new team of engine engineers at Honda are getting up to speed themselves.

"Because it is not, and we have to remind ourselves that it is not the same Honda that it was with Red Bull.

"You have to think of it as a brand-new operation, and so this year will be tough, but I'm sure constant progress will be made.

"Having been a Honda driver in the past myself, I know how they operate, and I'm convinced that they'll get there."

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