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Honda engine chief Satoshi Tsunoda believes the Japanese brand faced an uphill fight from the start with developing Aston Martin’s power unit for the 2026 F1 regulations.
Aston Martin have now entered a new chapter in their history by becoming the only Honda engine team from the 2026 F1 season. Honda had initially announced in October 2020 that the brand were to leave Formula 1 after the 2025 season, but pulled a U-Turn in May 2023.
Honda agreed on an exclusive engine supply deal with Aston Martin starting from the 2026 F1 regulations era as the new power unit formulae proved more appealing. F1 has removed the expensive MGU-H and increased the electrical power share from 20/80 to nearly 50/50.
However, after Aston Martin started their new life as the only Honda engine team late at the Barcelona shakedown, pre-season testing in Bahrain revealed a myriad of problems with the power unit. The F1 paddock believes Honda’s 2026 engine is overweight and underpowered.
How long do you expect Honda will need to turn Aston Martin’s engine around?
Honda only committing to F1’s 2026 regulations in 2023 ‘handicapped’ Aston Martin’s engine
Aston Martin’s Honda RA262H engine also suffered from overheating throughout the test in Bahrain, where Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll combined for the fewest laps by any team. The Spaniard and Canadian only penned a total of 334 laps – 252 fewer than Cadillac’s 586.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about F1’s 2026 engine and aero regulations
Head of power unit development at Honda Racing, Tsunoda, now admits that the Japanese giant’s decision to only commit to the 2026 regulations in 2023 immediately “handicapped” the brand. Some F1 teams are believed to have started designing their PUs as early as 2022.
Tsunoda outlined, via AS-WEB: “Of course, we were handicapped in that we were unable to begin full-scale development until we announced our return, which resulted in a late start.”
Honda also met an additional hurdle when they started designing Aston Martin’s engine, as F1 introduced a separate cost cap for the power unit constructors in 2023. So, Honda could not throw money at every problem, like they did while working with McLaren and Red Bull.
Tsunoda added: “There is a cost cap, so it’s different from before. In the past, companies could get serious and concentrate their resources. But that’s not so easy now. They can’t sow as many seeds as they did when they achieved high-speed combustion.
“Other manufacturers didn’t have a cost cap until 2022, so they were able to sow as many seeds as they wanted until then.
“But from 2023, when we announced our return, a new cost cap system was introduced for power unit manufacturers, as well, and they were no longer able to sow seeds as freely.”
F1’s cost cap for the engine constructors has been increased to $130m (£96m) in 2026
Aston Martin are currently facing a 38kph deficit to Ferrari’s engine! Do you think they’ll even QUALIFY for the Australian Grand Prix?!
Let us know in the comments below!
The FIA’s World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) confirmed the separate cost cap for F1 engine constructors in August 2022, stipulating a maximum spend on the development of the 2026 PUs of $95m (£70m) a year in 2023, 2024 and 2025 and rising to $130m (£96m) for 2026.
Honda have had to work to the cost cap ever since the deal was signed for the brand to join forces with Aston Martin from 2026. In contrast, Audi began work on their first F1 engine in 2022 despite the German brand only making their debut in 2026, having taken over Sauber.
Now, Aston Martin need Honda to make progress quickly as the Silverstone squad are set to start the 2026 season as the worst team on the grid. But Adrian Newey’s design is shackling Honda’s efforts to improve their engine, which they agreed to build around his car concept.
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