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It appears Adrian Newey’s attempt to try and leverage Aston Martin and Honda’s issues has not impacted the FIA’s decision-making.
Aston Martin have found themselves in a very difficult position with Honda. The myriad of issues with their power unit has led to Aston Martin starting the season very much behind the eight-ball.
Things have gotten quite tense between the two sides, especially due to Adrian Newey’s comments to the press. Many within Aston Martin believe Newey’s comments have strained the Honda relationship.
Have Aston Martin already ‘completely ruined’ their relationship with Honda?
In an attempt to reverse their fortunes, Aston Martin replaced Adrian Newey with Jonathan Wheatley taking over as team principal.
However, Newey’s attempt to curry favour from the FIA by ‘exaggerating’ the extent of their issues has not worked the way he had hoped, creating a new problem for the incoming Jonathan Wheatley.
READ MORE: Jonathan Wheatley has already stated how he can sign Max Verstappen for Aston Martin
FIA not looking to grant ADOU to Aston Martin despite Adrian Newey putting pressure
According to Andrew Garrison of Autosport Japan, Adrian Newey’s attempts at exaggerating Aston Martin’s issues to get ADOU applied sooner by the FIA have not been received well.
There is no sign that the FIA will grant Aston Martin ADOU for their issues. However the FIA is considering expediting ADOU due to the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudia Arabian Grand Prix.
“Adrian Newey appeared to exaggerate Honda’s problems in Melbourne in an attempt to get ADUO applied sooner, but this was largely ignored and the FIA gave no immediate indication that it would approve ADUO for Honda.”
“However, the FIA appears to be considering speeding up the initial application of ADUO in light of the cancellation of two races. I think that’s a reasonable step.”
While this is undoubtedly a big blow for Aston Martin, they could be set for a major upgrade next weekend at the Japanese Grand Prix.
READ MORE: Aston Martin’s £46m factor that could shape their Adrian Newey-Jonathan Wheatley decision
Is Jonathan Wheatley the right man to get Aston Martin back on track in 2026?
What was your immediate reaction to the news? Let us know in the comments below!
Honda set to make ‘first serious move’ to help Aston Martin struggles at Japanese GP
Garrison also reported that after speaking to sources within Honda and Aston Martin, the Japanese suppliers are set to make a big improvement to the power unit at Suzuka next weekend.
“I’ve heard from veterans who know Sakura and Silverstone well that Honda’s first serious move is expected to be at its home Grand Prix, Suzuka.”
“If so, it is encouraging. On the other hand, we haven’t heard of Newey or any of the chassis teams making any package changes to Honda’s power units that would give them a little more leeway, even if it’s just two or three centimetres.”
It’s hard to know just how accurate this statement from Honda is. Honda had promised countermeasures to their power unit issues ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix, yet those never came to pass.
In fact, Fernando Alonso’s onboard footage from Shanghai showed just how bad the vibration issue was for the team.
Perhaps Honda will take the prospect of a massive improvement at their home race a lot more seriously, and deliver a serious upgrade to Aston Martin.
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