Honda has revealed it is struggling with its new F1 power unit ahead of a highly anticipated return to the grid next year. The Japanese manufacturer will supply engines to Aston Martin after striking a deal with the team in May 2023. Honda opted to leave F1 at the end of the 2021 season following a multi-year partnership with Red Bull, culminating in Max Verstappen's dramatic maiden title at the year's final round in Abu Dhabi. However, a series of top-level changes at the company prompted Honda to shift towards a return to the grid in parallel with new power unit regulations for 2026. But Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) president Koji Watanabe has revealed the project is not running as smoothly as initially hoped. “Not so easy. We are struggling,” Watanabe said, as quoted by PlanetF1 . “Now we are trying our best to show the result next year.”
In 2015, Honda returned to the sport as an engine manufacturer, entering a hybrid power unit one year after the new rules came into effect. The two parties hoped to rekindle the historic championship-winning partnership that spanned from 1988 to 1992. However, the renewed project lasted just three seasons as Honda's engine proved to be slow and unreliable. It took several years for the engine to become competitive, and by that time, Honda had linked up with Red Bull and its sister team. When pushed to explain what is causing the concern for Honda this time around, Watanabe stated: “Everything is new. “The motor is a new 355-kW, very compact one we need. Also the lightweight battery, it’s not so easy to develop. And also the small engine with the big power. “Everything is very difficult, but we try our best.”
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