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Aston Martin F1 fans have received a glimmer of hope for the 2027 season following the issuing of a bold prediction from Honda’s former power unit chief, Yasuaki Asaki.
The Silverstone-based constructor has endured nothing short of a disaster during the opening stages of F1’s new era of regulations. Despite enormous expectations in pre-season, Aston Martin have just one point to their name after seven rounds.
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The brunt of their issues have seemingly come from Honda’s subpar power unit. A serious vibration issue marred pre-season, and the engine’s gap in performance was magnified by reliability being such a large focus at the start of the year.
However, one former chief of the Japanese engine manufacturer believes there is light at the end of the tunnel for his old colleagues, identifying the FIA’s amendments to the technical regulations for 2027 as a perfect opportunity for Honda to capitalise.
- READ MORE: Former Honda engineer fears Aston Martin ‘collapse’ if Adrian Newey continues to run the F1 team
Ex-Honda chief Yasuaki Asaki issues bold prediction on FIA’s 2027 engine amendments
Following a large amount of backlash in the opening races of the current campaign, the FIA recently announced that the new-for-2026 50/50 split between electrical and thermal energy will be scrapped in favour of a 60/40 split that is more weighted to the combustion engine.
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In a column for Japanese outlet Web Sportiva, ex-Honda man Yasuaki Asaki strongly believes the changes will work in favour of the Sakura-based engine manufacturers.
“The regulation changes agreed upon by the FIA, representatives from all teams, and PU manufacturers will increase the maximum engine output from the current 400kW to 420kW in 2027 and 450kW in 2028,” he wrote, explaining the changes that will be put in place.
“On the other hand, the maximum output of the MGU-K (kinetic energy recovery system) will be reduced from 350kW in the 2026 season to 300kW from the 2027 season onward.
“Honda are struggling because the regulation change lowered the upper limit of the compression ratio for internal combustion engines from 18:1 to 16:1.
“For 2027, they plan to increase the fuel flow rate to increase engine horsepower, but this will bring them back to a situation closer to last season when Honda was at their strongest. In that sense, my prediction is that the regulation changes onwards will work in Honda’s favour.”
As alluded to by Asaki, Honda’s poor performance this season came as quite a surprise, given their recent success with Max Verstappen at Red Bull. The Austrian outfit partnered with Honda in 2019 and went on to win four drivers’ and two constructors’ titles.
However, as Red Bull began efforts to develop their own engines in time for F1’s new era, they created a staffing issue for Aston Martin, as many of Honda’s power unit experts opted to remain in Milton Keynes as part of the new push.
It’s clear how much of an effect the mass exodus of employees had on the Japanese manufacturer, but another 12 months could potentially see their fortunes do a complete U-turn.
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