Honda backs long-term F1 project despite Aston Martin struggle
NXTbets Pro | Published On: June 22, 2026
Honda commitment
Honda says its Formula 1 commitment has not changed, and the company still views its return as a long-term project even after a difficult opening stretch with Aston Martin. That stance matters because the partnership has spent its early months under pressure, with the team stuck 10th in the constructors’ championship after seven rounds and Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll unable to pull consistent performance and reliability from the car package. Honda management is unhappy with the current level of results, but the company is not shifting away from the plan it laid out with Aston Martin. Koji Watanabe framed the effort as a mid-to-long-term undertaking and said it should be judged on that basis rather than by one season alone. His view is clear. The early results have fallen short of the target, but Honda still sees the project as one that can mature with time, coordinated development and better integration across the car and power unit sides of the program. That approach lines up with Honda’s broader history in Formula 1, where progress has often come after a rough start and a rebuild in structure, process and personnel.
Aston Martin challenge
Watanabe said the current challenge is greater than the one Honda faced during its Red Bull era because nearly everything in the Aston Martin project is new. The partnership itself is new, the regulations are new, the fuel and lubricant are new and the development cycle is new. Suppliers such as Aramco and Valvoline also bring fresh working relationships that have to settle in before performance gains show up on track. Honda’s 2021 exit from Formula 1 slowed development and made it harder to rebuild technical depth and talent, which leaves the company working to restore the kind of broad engineering base that supports a winning program. That background explains why Honda is resisting the temptation to treat the current season as the final measure of the partnership. The company has already lived through a difficult recovery once, and it points to the Red Bull turnaround as proof that a troubled Formula 1 project can improve over time when the people, systems and goals align. For Honda, the lesson from that period is straightforward. The first phase can be messy, but it does not define the entire effort. Aston Martin’s early struggles have been real, yet Honda believes the same patience that helped its Red Bull project recover can still pay off here if the structure keeps building in the right direction.
Honda upgrade
Honda plans a later-summer power unit update focused on the internal combustion engine, and Watanabe said it will not deliver an immediate turnaround. The company also said the upgrade has to be managed within the engine cost cap, which adds another layer of pressure to a program that is already trying to close the gap in performance. Honda’s message is that the engine step is only one part of the wider picture. Aston Martin is preparing a significant aerodynamic package before the summer break, and Honda believes the combination of chassis gains and power unit gains could move the team into midfield contention in the second half of the season. That is the route forward Honda is backing. The car needs more downforce, the power unit needs a better operating window and the two sides of the project need to come together more cleanly than they have so far. Lawrence Stroll remains supportive of Honda’s long-term effort, which gives the partnership a clear endorsement at the ownership level even as the competitive returns lag behind expectations. Honda sees that support, the planned upgrade path and the looming aerodynamic package as the pieces that can turn the project in the right direction. The company is not promising a quick fix. It is betting on layered progress, with the aim of building a package strong enough to fight in the middle of the grid once the development work begins to connect.
