‘Nobody’ at Aston Martin knew about the issues Red Bull were having with Honda engine last year

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Max Verstappen’s 2025 Red Bull setups showed Honda were struggling even before their Aston Martin partnership began, Ralf Schumacher says.

Effectively the Honda works team this year due to an exclusive engine deal, Aston Martin are bottom of the constructors’ championship heading to the Japanese Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll prop up the drivers’ standings in 21st and 22nd.

Honda’s internal combustion engine and battery are both down on power relative to rivals but more notably, severe vibrations are leading to frequent failures and putting the drivers in pain.

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Red Bull knew Honda weren’t ‘good enough anymore’

Aston Martin were excited about their partnership with Honda, who had powered all four of Max Verstappen’s title-winning cars at Red Bull.

But as Ralf Schumacher explained in an interview with F1-Insider, Honda were already starting to struggle last year relative to Mercedes (who also powered world champions McLaren) and Ferrari.

That’s why Verstappen frequently had to use lower downforce setups, increasing top speed through aerodynamics to compensate for a power deficit. Of course, Aston Martin didn’t have access to the damning data.

• READ MORE: Jonathan Wheatley must demand Aston Martin contract clause that stops them signing Christian Horner

Asked about the severity of Aston Martin’s problems, Schumacher said: “On a scale of one to 10, it’s definitely a 20. If you’ve followed the press conferences closely, there was practically an eruption from Adrian Newey. He was annoyed.

“Honda are baffled. Last year, Honda weren’t good enough anymore, or so I’ve gathered. That’s why Max usually drove with smaller wings, to compensate for that. He had the talent to do that, others didn’t.

“Of course, nobody at Aston Martin knew about that. You couldn’t get that kind of information yet.

‘Fashion industry’ veteran Lawrence Stroll needed to trust the experts

Aston Martin previously used Mercedes engines, and they may now be wishing that they had renewed their contract with the German manufacturer, who have built the best power unit on the grid.

McLaren, Williams and Aston Martin replacements Alpine haven’t been able to optimise that engine as yet, but they are still in a far better place. Newey believes his chassis is one of the top five on the grid, so podiums would be a realistic target with the aid of Mercedes technology.

Schumacher suspects that fashion tycoon Lawrence Stroll didn’t pay adequate attention to F1 engine experts like Andy Cowell (now Aston Martin’s chief strategy officer) in the run-up to the 2026 season.

• READ MORE: Bernie Ecclestone had reservations about Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll right from the start

He said: “Nevertheless, it’s a bit disappointing that they didn’t make sure they knew who was building this engine before signing the contract. If someone from the fashion industry is managing a Formula 1 team, they won’t know everything.

“Perhaps it was a bit much for Lawrence Stroll, or maybe he didn’t rely on advisors like Andy Cowell, who would be perfect for that.”