Honda Has Bad News About 2026 Power Units Ahead Of Partnership With Aston Martin

Honda has delivered bad news about its progress on Aston Martin's 2026 power unit, admitting struggles in developing the engine under the new regulations. The partnership, set to begin next year, marks Honda's official return to Formula 1 as Aston Martin's power unit supplier.

Honda parted ways with the premier class of motorsport in 2021, concluding its relationship with Red Bull. Now though, transformations of the Japanese manufacturer's top-level management allow it to focus its attention on F1 again, and its returns coincide with new power unit regulations for 2026.

While Honda continues to supply power units to Red Bull and its junior F1 team, VCARB, it will partner exclusively with Aston Martin next year to develop entirely new engines powered by an equal ratio of electric power and internal combustion. Driving into uncharted territory, Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) president Koji Watanabe has opened up on the challenges, revealing that the 2026 power unit project isn't developing as smoothly as anticipated. Speaking to PlanetF1, he said:

“Not so easy. We are struggling. Now we are trying our best to show the result next year.”

Speaking further on the challenges, he said:

“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.”

Watanabe's statements arrive at a time when Aston Martin is ensuring it leaves no stone unturned to win races in the future. The outfit's new modern Silverstone facility with its state-of-the-art wind tunnel is also expected to offer a considerable boost to its car's performance. Not to forget the appointment of Formula 1's most renowned aerodynamicist from Red Bull, Adrian Newey, whose inputs on the car could turn things around for Aston Martin in a big way.

Newey recently revealed that the new era starting in 2026 is expected to be dominated by engine regulations, hinting that the team with the most powerful and reliable power unit would lead the era. He said:

"There has to be a big chance that it's an engine formula at the start. I can't remember another time in Formula 1 when both the chassis regulations and the engine regulations have changed simultaneously, and where in this case the chassis regulations have been very much written to try to compensate, let's say, for the power unit regulations. So, it's an extra dimension.

"There has to be a chance that one manufacturer will come out well on top, and it will become a power-unit-dominated regulation, at least to start with. There's a chance that if it's on the combustion engine side of it, that somebody comes up with a dominant combustion engine that will last through the length of the formula, because the way the regulations are written, it's quite difficult for people who are behind to catch up.

"If it's on the electrical side, then there's much more ability to catch up if you're behind. And on the fuel side, which might play a role as well, there's flexibility in principle, but with dyno restrictions and the fact that everything's so optimised, you can't simply chuck a different fuel into an engine that hasn't been optimised for it."