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Martin Brundle feels it will take Aston Martin “six months” before they start to see any improvements, as they have a “big problem” as the only Honda-engined team in 2026.
Aston Martin have entered a new phase in their history this year, but the start of the outfit’s time as the factory Honda power unit team has started in dire fashion. The Silverstone crew suffered reliability issues throughout pre-season, which have also continued into the season.
Fernando Alonso failed to record a single lap of Albert Park in the first practice session at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix this Friday. Lance Stroll also only managed to complete just three laps before his session came to an abrupt end, with both drivers encountering engine issues.
Honda confirmed before the start of FP1 in Melbourne that Alonso would not be taking part in the session. It added another bleak layer to Honda and Aston Martin’s already sorry story, which was meant to mark the start of the Silverstone squad’s rise to the front of the F1 field.
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Martin Brundle thinks Aston Martin being the only Honda-engined team is a ‘big problem’
Brundle addressed Aston Martin and Honda’s miserable situation before FP1 on Friday, after team boss Adrian Newey revealed on Thursday that Alonso feels he cannot do more than 25 consecutive laps and Stroll 15 laps without risking permanent nerve damage in their hands.
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Newey even conceded while reflecting on their torrid pre-season testing in Bahrain that the vibrations from Honda’s engine are shaking the mirrors off Aston Martin’s car. Now, Brundle expects Aston Martin to face “six months” of pain, as only they can help Honda gather data.
Brundle said on Sky Sports F1 (06/03, 01:18): “They are between a rock and a hard place. They’re in a very difficult position. The car didn’t exactly look like it was stuck to the road when it when it did run in Bahrain testing.
“Clearly, it doesn’t have reliability. It doesn’t have speed. And the big problem they have is they’re the only team running the Honda engine. Imagine how many kilometres before Mercedes power unit teams did in testing.
“So, they’re not learning anything about deployment, about starts, about pit stops and everything sort of falls away. So, they’ve got the resources, they’ve got the talent [but] they don’t have time. It’ll take them six months to begin to really turn that around.”
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Honda realised during checks after the two pre-season tests in Bahrain that their V6 internal combustion engine (ICE) in Aston Martin’s 2026 F1 regulations power unit had been creating excessive vibrations. The issue meant Honda’s battery repeatedly failed during the two tests.
Aston Martin and Honda rushed to design a fix for their engine vibration problem in time for the Australian GP. But the extra work meant Newey and his Silverstone squad have not been able to make any progress on their chassis, or begin working on improving their lack of pace.
Now, Brundle fears it could take Aston Martin and Honda six months before they are able to make the AMR26 a competitive car for Alonso and Stroll. His timeline may also be on top of the six-month timeline Aston Martin face to design a new gearbox, as their design is fragile.
Along with now having to adapt to being the only Honda-engined team this season, having ditched a customer Mercedes power unit deal, Aston Martin have had to design their own gearbox for the first time. Aston Martin previously bought their gearboxes from Mercedes.
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