With Adrian Newey laying the current issues at Aston Martin bare in Melbourne, Motorsport Week asks if the famed Formula 1 design legend’s words will help Honda move towards brighter horizons for its power unit partnership
Watching Aston Martin’s weekend in Australia was a bit like watching a terrible relationship break up in slow motion on a tabloid talk show. You know you shouldn’t, and every fibre of your being tells you to look away, yet your gaze remains on the spectacle, and low and behold, you witness the moment the entire relationship collapses inwards on itself. Now part of the history of the relationship, seeing the experience and what was said will never leave your mind, no matter how hard you try and bury it.
Adrian Newey’s media briefings were the definition of airing dirty linen in public, as he delivered a stinging rebuke of Honda’s efforts for its now much-maligned return. But there were no raised voices, no personal attacks. Instead, Newey did something far worse. In his usual soft tone, he laid out the facts and experiences of working with Honda, which heaped further pressure on the now beleaguered engine manufacturer.
His weekend media briefings became the stuff of legend, the kind not seen in F1 for over a decade. Ironically, it was Honda who once again were at the centre of that particular debacle following the disastrous reunion with McLaren in 2015. That year became characterised by watching Honda refuse to take responsibility for its truly terrible first power unit. Though, to give them credit, McLaren did force an extreme design concept on them that hindered their development.
Newey and Alonso – unable to bite their tongues on Aston Martin problems
2026 is a very different story however. Honda appears to have willingly given itself an uphill task, by not bringing back the team that made it so successful in its previous era, instead opting for fresh ideas. On paper, that may seem a good idea, but in the complex world of F1 that has proven to be a monumental mistake. Honda, already behind in developing its power unit for 2026 when it announced its return, badly needed that expertise, and instead seemingly chose to close ranks, and keep the level of inexperience at Sakura secret. Not until Newey, Andy Cowell and Stroll visited Sakura in November 2025 did the scale of the problem become apparent, and by then it was already far too late.
It really was as if Honda looked at the diabolical Renault engine shutdown and designs, and said “hold my beer” to beat it in 2026. It equates to one of the worst starts to an F1 season in modern memory. The last team to cause such an embarrassment was HRT back in 2012 when it failed to qualify in Australia.
Somewhat understandably, this looks to have tipped Newey over the edge, and has taken to calling out Honda in press conferences and media sessions. For a company as proud as Honda, this will hurt substantially. But any discredit given in media sessions pales into insignificance when compared to the damage done on the TV coverage. Imagine Honda executives watching both Aston Martin cars retire after just 25 laps in Australia due to power unit vibrations and unreliability. Far from a good look, Honda now faces an uphill battle to rescue its credibility, or Aston Martin risks a mass exodus of sponsors, just as McLaren did in 2015 to 2017. Its dignity, like a guest on the talk show, has been shredded in a matter of hours. This is not a problem that can be resolved overnight. Testing continues in Sakura on the power unit, and reliability must improve.
But the biggest question by a mile is what happened to all the spare components? As part of his takedown of Honda, Newey confirmed that just two working batteries remained going into Saturday, leaving them potentially incapable of a race start. Fernando Alonso mocked Honda by directing journalist questions over spare parts to the manufacturer, sarcastically questioning if they had any stock.
The entire situation makes a mockery of Andretti’s rejection by the teams, and F1. It was accused of not being able to compete, and not add any value to the sport. From where the sport is sitting, Honda looks to have looked at that particular decision and decided it could be worse. One cannot imagine the logic and management that is happening in Sakura to lead to this truly diabolical weekend.
The form book signals good news for Newey, Aston Martin and Honda
With the Gulf region races looking set to be cancelled, the AMR26 appears to have 21 more chances to avoid becoming the first Newey-designed car since the Leyton House CG981 that has failed to finish on the podium. He believes, currently, the chassis is the fifth-best on the grid. As the sun sets in Melbourne and the sun rises in England, there is now the odd whisper that Aston may look to get out of this deal early, but one would be hugely surprised if such a blow were executed, or even possible.
However, if one is to look at the history books and look at one’s glass and deem it half-full, then the horizon will certainly look less bleak than it does right now. Not only is there a baseline of Newey’s ingenuity, but Honda has a proven track record – its McLaren 2015-17 debacle excepted – in overcoming issues to come out stronger.
In 1984, after being out of F1 for 16 years, it returned as an engine manufacturer for Williams, and after a difficult first season, it ended its second in 1985 with three victories, and went on to win the next six Constructors’ Championships via the Grove-based squad and then McLaren.
After scrapping a promising planned works team in 1999, Honda returned via BAR, and then Jordan, in 2000, and after purchasing the former, it indeed returned to the grid in its own right in 2006. One win that year was a pleasant surprise, but the next two years were largely disappointing, and the global financial crisis triggered its withdrawal from the sport. And whilst it sold the team to Ross Brawn for £1, and whilst that team became double champions in 2009 in a Mercedes-powered car, that car was, for the most part, a Honda in all but name, having been mostly completed before its decision to pull out.
And after cutting its losses with McLaren, a chance was taken on Honda by another British powerhouse in the form of Red Bull, and that partnership propelled Max Verstappen to four World Championships and three Constructors’ Championships, despite pulling out at the end of 2021.
Motorsport Week observed a strong sense of determination from those in the white shirts of Honda during Bahrain testing. Every keyboard-wielding amateur psychologist looked at every photograph of Newey, Stroll and basically anyone either in those white shirts or in British Racing Green. For our money, they were more looks of focus and pensiveness, a bit like those worn by most individuals from every team during pre-season testing.
Newey evidently was pointedly making his points before the world to prove a point. Perhaps he feels his relationship and trust with Honda – so strong from their Red Bull days – is somewhat broken, but if it feels the whip that Newey, Stroll and Cowell have collectively cracked with fervency, then Honda will overcome and will prevail.
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