Adrian Newey asked Honda to change ‘almost everything’ when he joined Aston Martin

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Adrian Newey forced Honda to overhaul their 2026 power unit vision when he joined Aston Martin last year, according to the Japanese manufacturer.

The brand-new partnership between Aston Martin and Honda got off to a disastrous start during pre-season testing. A succession of technical problems severely restricted the AMR26’s mileage and top speed.

However, blame cannot solely be directed at the engine suppliers. Newey’s aggressive chassis design has caused overheating, which is why the Aston Martin is now ‘riddled’ with cooling vents.

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A report this week suggested Newey was ‘shackling’ Honda’s efforts to improve by adopting an uncompromising philosophy.

‘We were running out of time’ – Honda on Adrian Newey orders

After leaving Red Bull in 2024, Newey wasn’t eligible to start work at Aston Martin until March 2025. By that point, engine development was already well advanced.

Satoshi Tsunoda, the general manager of Honda’s F1 engine project, has revealed that the legendary designer ordered sweeping changes after his arrival.

There were indications even before testing that Honda were behind schedule, and perhaps this was the reason why.

• READ MORE: Adrian Newey wants to sign Red Bull designer Craig Skinner to help him fix Aston Martin

“Since Mr. Newey joined Aston Martin in March 2025, almost everything we’ve done up until now has changed,” Tsunoda explained, via Autosport Web.

“We haven’t changed the engine structure, of course, but everything else, including the peripheral equipment and how it’s attached to the car body, has changed.”

“Newey asked us, ‘Can’t you do it this way?’ and we were running out of time.”

On the chassis side, Newey said Aston Martin fell four months behind their competitors as they waited for his design to be wind-tunnel-ready. They only left the garage for the first time on the penultimate day of the Barcelona shakedown after a late arrival.

Honda admit their problems are ‘extremely serious’ before new F1 season

Martin Brundle has called Aston Martin’s situation ‘dire’, and Honda aren’t hiding from the scale of their problems.

Speaking in a press conference in Japan, HRC managing director Ikuo Takeishi acknowledged that the outlook after testing is ‘severe’. There is only one week to go before the opening round in Australia.

Back in the UK, some Aston Martin staff are barely sleeping as they work double and triple overtime. That effort is apparently being mirrored in Japan.

Takeishi said, via AS-Web: “We believe the results of the pre-season tests are extremely serious and severe.

“HRC Sakura’s engineers and on-site staff are making considerable efforts to improve the situation and are working as quickly as possible to make improvements in preparation for the opening race.”

Newey and Aston Martin were clearly dealt a difficult hand by the timing of his arrival, but it seems that the 67-year-old’s approach has complicated matters even further.