22 February 2026F1i.comPractice reportRumor
Newey Sounds Alarm on Honda Engine Crisis at Aston Martin
Design legend Adrian Newey has privately warned that Honda's new F1 power unit is critically underperforming, failing to recover energy at mandated levels. This deficit cripples Aston Martin's straight-line speed and prevents accurate assessment of their new chassis, plunging the team into a developmental crisis amid severe reliability problems in testing.
Adrian Newey has reportedly delivered a stark warning about Honda’s catastrophic power unit deficit in a private F1 Commission meeting, threatening to derail Aston Martin’s ambitious plans before they even begin. The new Honda unit is failing to meet critical energy recovery targets, leaving the AMR26 uncompetitive and blinding the team’s chassis development.