Adrian Newey is now ‘putting pressure on the FIA’ to grant Honda a cost cap ‘exception’

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Adrian Newey has been remarkably honest about Aston Martin’s crisis at the Australian Grand Prix, but it turns out he may have had an ulterior motive for doing so. Honda are at risk of breaching the cost cap for engine manufacturers.

Martin Brundle said last month that Honda are ‘churning through their cost cap’, having been forced to replace a stream of broken parts. They are urgently working on fixes, above all to the battery, but this will prove expensive too.

Newey said in Australia on Friday that Aston Martin are down to two batteries for the weekend, having brought four, and described the situation as ‘scary’. The persistent problems may be linked to the heavily-documented vibrations, which are a health concern for the drivers.

Aston Martin boss Adrian Newey reveals Honda only have two operational batteries left

Will Aston Martin make the start of the Australian Grand Prix?

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Adrian Newey is playing media game to seek Honda cost cap exemption

On Thursday, Newey revealed that his drivers couldn’t complete more than 25 laps without risking permanent nerve damage in their hands, so severe are the vibrations. It was unusual to hear this level of candour: normally, a team principal would play down issues and optimistically talk about solutions.

One theory was that Aston Martin wanted to ‘skip’ a few rounds to give them more time to build a race-ready car. By flagging potential health risks, they could perhaps escape their contractual obligations.

What punishment should Aston Martin be given if they miss the Australian Grand Prix?

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But now, Roberto Chinchero of Motorsport Italia reports that Newey has the cost cap in mind. There is a mechanism in the 2026 rules to help struggling engine manufacturers, affording them additional development time and spending room if they are more than four percent off the pace.

But even that won’t cover the extra costs that Honda will have to incur, which is why Newey is ‘putting pressure’ on the FIA to make a safety-related exception to the budgetary limits.

What is the penalty for breaching F1’s engine cost cap?

There are separate cost caps for the 11 teams and the five engine suppliers (Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari, Audi and Honda).

In 2023, Renault (who no longer build their own power units) and Honda committed procedural errors. They were fined a combined $1m (£750k).

That is the only precedent one can go off, but if Honda overspend by a significant margin, as is currently forecast, then the punishment could theoretically be far more severe.

There may be outrage from rival teams if Honda are granted an exemption this year, and understandably so. Ultimately, they would be paying the price for their own mistakes.

But perhaps there should be a degree of prudence. Is it really in the interests of the sport to heavily sanction Aston Martin and Honda when they are already so far off the pace.

For F1 to be truly healthy, it needs all of the engine manufacturers to reach a base level of competitiveness. Honda originally planned to quit the sport before these rules came in, and if they are treated too harshly, perhaps they will walk away for good.