Honda could now derail Adrian Newey’s plan amid ‘intense pressure’ from Aston Martin

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Adrian Newey is not resting on his laurels after Fernando Alonso took Aston Martin’s first point of 2026 in Monaco, but Honda may throw a spanner into the team’s plans.

The Silverstone squad have endured a sorry start to the 2026 F1 season, with their switch to Honda power units not paying off just yet. Only new boys Cadillac are below Aston Martin in the F1 constructors’ standings and Lance Stroll ranks last in the initial drivers’ championship.

Alonso moved to 18th place in the F1 drivers’ standings after inheriting P10 in last Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix. The two-time champion profited from Cadillac racer Sergio Perez fading from P10 to P15 due to his 10-second post-race penalty for being out of position on the grid.

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Honda feel ‘intense pressure’ to give Aston Martin an upgraded engine at the Belgian GP

Aston Martin’s troubles so far this term have started to see tension build behind the scenes, too. Alonso showed his first signs of frustration towards Aston Martin after qualifying P21 in Monaco, with Stroll P22. Monaco’s roads exposed the AMR26’s chassis more than any race.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Aston Martin F1 team principal Adrian Newey

Newey is determined to improve Aston Martin’s situation with their first major upgrades for the AMR26 this season. But Auto Motor und Sport reports that while Newey is targeting the Belgian Grand Prix on July 17-19, Honda could make Aston Martin delay their upgrade plan.

Aston Martin are yet to introduce any major updates for the AMR26 as the team and Honda prioritised fixing the vibration issues caused by their engine. Yet while the vibrations appear to be addressed, that delay means Honda are behind schedule with upgrading their engine.

Honda have received ADUO status and can introduce two upgrades for their engine over the rest of the season. However, Honda are feeling ‘intense time pressure’ from Aston Martin to now get an upgraded engine ready for the Belgian GP, as any delay will derail Newey’s plans.

Newey will not introduce updates for the AMR26 until Honda’s upgraded engine is ready for Alonso and Stroll to use at the same time. It is currently unclear whether or not Honda have any chance of preparing an upgraded engine in time for the Belgian GP in four rounds’ time.

Alonso and Stroll will have to make do with what Aston Martin and Honda currently have in Barcelona, Austria and Great Britain, whilst holding out hope for finally receiving updates in Belgium. Alonso did not take any positives away from Monaco, after their issues deepened.

“Zero positives from this weekend,” Alonso said after the Monaco GP, via Autosport. “We’ve been racing in very different circuits so far this year, all of them were clear for us in terms of understanding some of our weaknesses.

“In Australia, we found our engine was very down. In China, we found our energy was very down. In Monaco, we found our chassis is down. And in Canada and in Miami, we found that our gearbox was very bad. I think every circuit exposed some of our weaknesses in the car.”