Helmut Marko was ‘very angry’ with Honda over Aston Martin return and predicted 2026 troubles

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Helmut Marko will be watching the 2026 Australian Grand Prix away from the circuit after leaving Red Bull Racing at the end of last season, and might have a wry smile on his face if Aston Martin fail to complete an incredibly unlikely turnaround in Melbourne.

Red Bull and Honda enjoyed one of the most successful partnerships in Formula 1 history during the previous era of the sport.

The Japanese manufacturer powered Max Verstappen to four drivers’ championships, including the most dominant season in F1 history in 2023.

However, when Formula 1 announced that the engine rules would be changing for the 2026 season, Honda used that opportunity to announce they were walking away from the sport, only for Aston Martin to convince them to make an unexpected comeback.

Verstappen has wished Honda well after their partnership came to an end, but journalist and commentator Nelson Valkenburg believes that Helmut Marko wasn’t as impressed with their apparent U-turn.

READ MORE: Ralf Schumacher warns Aston Martin F1 fans that a solution to Honda woes ‘will take several months’

Helmut Marko predicted Honda would be ‘miles behind’ after joining Aston Martin in 2026

Valkenburg was speaking about Honda’s struggles heading into the 2026 season on the Nailing the Apex Podcast.

He then referred to their previous relationship with Red Bull and said: “Helmut Marko warned Honda about this.

“When Honda did an about-face and said, ‘OK, we’re coming back. We’re redoing everything.’

“He was very angry because the Red Bull team had heavily invested to soften the blow of Honda leaving.

“And then they came back, and he said, ‘Well, they’re going to be miles behind.’

Will anyone suffer the same fate as these disastrous F1 cars at this year’s Australian GP? 😬

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“The worrying part is that it got progressively worse as the test went on.

“And even just looking at the car on downshifts and at turn-in, it just looks undercooked on all fronts.

“When you’re baking a cake, either you have the right ingredients, or you don’t, and you have the patience to bake it right, and neither seems to be in place right now.”

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about former Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko

How bad could things get for Honda and Aston Martin at the Australian Grand Prix?

As Valkenburg described, it appeared as if Aston Martin’s problems were getting worse as testing went on in Bahrain.

They were completing fewer and fewer laps every time the car left the garage, with Lance Stroll unable to set a competitive time on the final day.

Honda essentially ran out of parts during testing, and even before that happened, they were struggling to get anywhere close to the same levels of power as their competitors.

Adrian Newey voiced private concerns about the Honda power unit, and the upcoming Australian Grand Prix could expose just how far behind the rest of the grid they are.

Initial suggestions that Aston Martin could deliberately retire from the race appear to be wide of the mark, but hopes are not high for the Silverstone-based team.

If either Stroll or Fernando Alonso get out of Q1 on Saturday, it would be a surprise, and Marko’s prediction about how far away they would be from being competitive seems very accurate right now.

Red Bull hired dozens of Honda’s best engineers when they initially decided to quit F1, and even now, it’s believed that some of their strongest technicians still haven’t returned to the Formula 1 project.