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Newey Reviews Honda’s Exciting Progress Amid Aston Martin Buzz
Highlights
- Aston Martin shows cautious optimism amid slower Honda progress
- Alonso finished eighth in Bahrain; Singapore race disappointed
- Engineers at Silverstone exhibit strong team spirit and long hours
- Newey compares Aston Martin’s growth to Red Bull’s past turnaround
- Honda marks 500th F1 race; development pace remains behind expectations
- Both Aston Martin and Honda focus on future improvement projects
Adrian Newey strikes a cautious but optimistic tone on Aston Martin’s trajectory, while acknowledging Honda’s slower-than-hoped progress in the 2026 season.
The campaign has been lean on results, with Fernando Alonso’s eighth place in a rain-hit Bahrain Grand Prix the standout. Singapore promised more but underdelivered, shifting attention to Austin.
Early Austin running placed Alonso and Lance Stroll 12th and 13th in the opening session, a baseline the team aims to build on around the evolving AMR26 programme.
Newey highlights a strengthening atmosphere at Silverstone, with engineers generating ideas and putting in long hours. The internal “buzz” reflects renewed focus on execution and correlation.
Newey says Honda is “a little behind” internal expectations, but backs the manufacturer to accelerate development.
He draws parallels to his early Red Bull years, when structure, clarity, and stability laid the groundwork for a rapid competitive climb.
At Aston Martin, breaking down silos and improving collaboration have been priorities. The emphasis sits on process, not shortcuts, to unlock consistent gains.
On the power unit side, Newey’s familiarity with Honda shapes expectations. Relative to its 2015 return and 2019 Red Bull supply, he believes progress has been slower than anticipated.
Even so, he expresses confidence Honda will compress timelines, citing established processes and a committed workforce already engaged on upgrades.
Team metrics, including deployment-related outputs, indicate a current shortfall, underlining where development must bite.
Newey avoids quantifying the gap, but notes indicators such as acceleration deployment output point to a deficit. The emphasis remains on PU-chassis interaction, not raw output alone.
Analysis of lap times and GPS traces guides priorities, from energy deployment profiles to drag levels and mechanical efficiency across circuit types.
Honda’s 500th Formula 1 start came at the 2026 United States Grand Prix, a milestone tempered by development frustration. Newey believes it has reinforced resolve within Sakura.
Honda’s 500th F1 race underscored heritage and expectation, sharpening the push to recover performance.
New projects are already in motion with encouraging early signals. Both parties view the medium term as decisive, with targeted upgrades aligned to their progress towards 2027 and beyond.
Visual Summary
Aston Martin’s Climb: Hope, Frustration & Honda’s 500-Run Milestone
🔋 Team Spirit
Honda
Optimism: rising, but engine progress lagging
🌧️
Rain-Hit ‘Bahrain’
Malaysia GP
Malaysia GP
P8 Alonso
✨
Highlight
Team’s only big score so far this year
🇸🇬 Singapore: Missed Opportunity
→
🇺🇸 Austin: New Hopes
Qualifying: Alonso P12 • Stroll P13
“Buzz” at Silverstone as development intensifies
“Buzz” at Silverstone as development intensifies
Aston Martin: spirit rising
Honda: progress not there yet
“We’re climbing just like Red Bull did…”
– Newey
– Newey
Daniel Miller reports on Formula 1 Grand Prix weekends with race-day analysis, team-radio highlights, and point-standings updates. He explains power-unit upgrades, aerodynamic developments, and driver rivalries in straightforward, SEO-friendly language for a global F1 audience.
