Sports · Motorsport · 6 hrs ago
Newey says Honda is disappointed with its 2026 F1 progress
Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey says Honda is disappointed with its progress in Formula 1 this season.
Honda returned to the sport this year as Aston Martin’s power unit supplier.
Early vibration and reliability problems hampered the power unit, and upgrades have not yet lifted Aston Martin from 10th in the championship.
The FIA changed the rules in May to let Honda spend more on development.
Newey says the company has capable staff and processes, but progress takes time.
Honda is working on projects it hopes will bring gains in 2027, including a possible redesign of its power unit.
Further upgrades next season may be possible under the rules, but their timing and approval are not yet certain.
Adrian Newey said Honda is disappointed with its progress in its first year back in Formula 1.
He said the manufacturer has made less progress this year than it may have expected.
Honda’s power unit has had vibration and reliability problems, and Aston Martin remains 10th in the championship, ahead of Cadillac.
Newey said Honda has good people and processes in place and is determined to improve.
He also pointed to early-stage projects that he said show promise for 2027.
- Who
- Adrian Newey, Aston Martin team principal, discussed Honda’s progress.
- What
- Newey said Honda was disappointed with its progress in its first year back in Formula 1.
- When
- October 2026, during press conferences ahead of the US Grand Prix.
- Where
- Austin, Texas.
- Why
- Honda’s progress with its power unit has fallen short of expectations and has not enabled Aston Martin to fight regularly for points.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Honda’s power unit had serious vibration and reliability problems at the season opener in Melbourne.
The FIA revised the rules to allow Honda to spend more on power-unit development.
Honda introduced power-unit upgrades, but Aston Martin remained unable to fight regularly for points.
Newey said Honda had probably been disappointed with its progress that year.
- Honda’s return
- First year back in Formula 1
- Aston Martin’s position
- 10th in the championship, ahead of Cadillac
- Development rules
- FIA revised the rules in May to allow Honda to spend more on development
- Honda upgrades
- Updates included steps for the internal combustion engine and turbo
- Future projects
- Newey said early-stage projects for 2027 showed promise
3 sources
What people are saying
I think it’s fair to say that Honda have probably been a little bit disappointed with how much progress they have managed to make this year.
They are very determined. These things don't change overnight, but they have a lot of good people, a lot of good processes now in place.
Honda obviously are working hard. They’re a great company, as we all know, capable of great things, as they’ve proved many times in the past.
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.