2026 Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team

[SealTheRealDeal]

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/hond ... dentified/

Instead of a single longer and flatter shape like before, the 2026 Honda design splits the battery and control electronics into two tiers, which seems to be even more aggressive than what is demanded by the new rules requiring the battery to be contained within the survival cell.

Honda has previously said a desire from Aston Martin to make the overall engine length shorter and more compact prompted revisions to most of the engine's peripheral equipment and how it is integrated into the car, although the design of the engine itself did not have to be changed.

Focusing in on that last bit seems there's no point pointing fingers until it is clarified if the vibrations originate from the actual engine or the fitment with the other PU components and car.

[diffuser]

Putting in my 2c as an outsider without emotional attachment to either Honda or AMR, this project seemed doomed for failure in a way that's everyone's fault.

- Honda chose to leave right when they were becoming successful with Red Bull, and then jumped back in later than everyone else.
- It's still not clear how much personnel from the successful Honda engine was lost to RBPT or the other PU manufacturers in the meantime.
- Then Newey comes, late.
- Then Newey forces a redesign, robbing them of even more time they didn't have.
- For some reason, such as cultural communication issues or too much Newey-worship, no one pushes back on these demands.
- On top of that Aston is trying to make their own brand new gearbox for the first time amongst other things, and it looks like they don't have good integration testing processes for all those things yet.

The same exact problem with McHonda back in the day: Honda was forced to join a year before they were ready, with unreasonable specs. I estimate that between the late recommitment and Newey's demands they were robbed of even more time.

If you want to be a works team, you have to work with your PU manufacturer, not treat them as a subcontractor. I can't imagine the Ferrari or Mercedes chassis people making such demands of their engine people. They should have done what Cadillac is doing -- stick with their known PU until they are sure they can manufacture a gearbox and everything themselves, and make their own engine last. Were they still using a Mercedes engine, Newey would have had no choice but to design around it.

- HONDA lost 0 personnel in Japan to RBR.
- Honda lost all the personnel in the UK, none of them did R&D on the Honda PU.
- We don't know how many of the R&D people that were in the OLD F1 project at Honda, returned to the new project.

- Not sure where this subcontractor BS comes from.
- I'm, 100% sure that the communication between Honda and AMR is the same as it was between Honda and RBR.
- You're making an argument that throws away the biggest advantage for being a works team.

Can Honda make changes at engine when ever want or FIA must allow first? When will fia allow changes?

look for a post with me and AR3-GP from the last couple of days.

[upsidedowntoast]

Can Honda make changes at engine when ever want or FIA must allow first? When will fia allow changes?

There are reviews for being 2-4% being after races 6, 12, and 18. I think there's a separate thing where they might raise the budget cap if a team is so far behind they need to catch up.

So they will use this engine/battery up to race 6? But they will not finish any race before they fix these problems.

Tweaks for reliability or safety are permitted I think, would be embarrassing for F1 if they just couldn't race at all. I believe Honda said they'd have a fix ready by the China GP so presumably it won't be the same exact engine and battery, and the required change is small enough that it can go through right away. But any major engine redesigns would have to wait until the specified periods, and only if they're more than 2-4% behind.

[sn809]

Is the homologation of ICE only or also of battery. As in can they move things around??

[CMSMJ1]

[/quote]
I completrly disagree with your interpretation, so stop arguing the point.
[/quote]

Regardless of what is being said, you do not have the right to tell people what to post. Debate the post, not silence the poster

[diffuser]

I completrly disagree with your interpretation, so stop arguing the point.
[/quote]

Regardless of what is being said, you do not have the right to tell people what to post. Debate the post, not silence the poster
[/quote]

Maybe I could have stated better but I wanted him to stop arguing with me about it. He can say whatever he wants but stop replying to me on the subject. The next step would have been to block him.

[hollus]

So: "Let's agree to disagree".

[diffuser]

So: "Let's agree to disagree".

The post before that one ...

"I dont know why you pasted that. Even if the loan was for 2 billion. It would STIll be CHUMP CHANGE. You don't believe that. We disagree...that fine.

In 10 years AMR GP will be worth 6 Billion. Today you probably can't buy a team license from F1 for less than 1 billion."

[diffuser]

Good Article ....

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/honda ... /10800741/

[ispano6]

The issue stems from the compounding of drivetrain vibrations that result from running the car on track.

A bench dyno likely wouldn't be able to replicate one of the contributing factors to this current ordeal - it's really the gearbox, PU and suspension all contributing to the destructive dissonance. The mounting mechanisms are also being looked at to see why the double stack design could be an issue.

It's possible the two housings could be actually thumping and banging into each other on bumps and kerbs or the internals may not be secured sufficiently within the casing.

I would think a possible future development would be an L shape casing that is a single housing. It could help to reduce external bracings for two separate individual components assuming that you would replace the CE and ES together anyway.

It also looks like the ES+CE butts up against the ICE. Could they distance this in some way that the drivetrain vibration doesn't transmit as much directly? Is the chassis itself flimsy?

At least we know the component sustaining damage is "non-mechanical" and related to vibration than overheating. And judging by the team's current response they know pretty much what needs to be done to rectify the reliability issues. I would expect Honda shows up with more spare components than other teams and possibly more than one solution for the chassis integration. The two cars might not be using identical parts.

[TyreSlip]

A bench dyno likely wouldn't be able to replicate one of the contributing factors to this current ordeal - it's really the gearbox, PU and suspension all contributing to the destructive dissonance. The mounting mechanisms are also being looked at to see why the double stack design could be an issue.

It's possible the two housings could be actually thumping and banging into each other on bumps and kerbs or the internals may not be secured sufficiently within the casing.

In the Japanese motorsport article, it was said that Aston Martin brought 5 of its engineers to help in Sakura. The engineers also brought some car parts with them so that Honda can troubleshoot and minimize these vibrations.

[AR3-GP]

The issue stems from the compounding of drivetrain vibrations that result from running the car on track.

A bench dyno likely wouldn't be able to replicate one of the contributing factors to this current ordeal - it's really the gearbox, PU and suspension all contributing to the destructive dissonance. The mounting mechanisms are also being looked at to see why the double stack design could be an issue.

It's possible the two housings could be actually thumping and banging into each other on bumps and kerbs or the internals may not be secured sufficiently within the casing.

I would think a possible future development would be an L shape casing that is a single housing. It could help to reduce external bracings for two separate individual components assuming that you would replace the CE and ES together anyway.

It also looks like the ES+CE butts up against the ICE. Could they distance this in some way that the drivetrain vibration doesn't transmit as much directly? Is the chassis itself flimsy?

Honda said that they didn't experience these problems at Red Bull. I just remembered something that has changed for 2026. One of the structural braces in the cylinder head was reportedly eliminated in order to reduce the engine cover size.

[PlatinumZealot]

I can't help but shake a very specific thought seeing all this.

Newey being the Team Principle may not actually be a good thing.

Let me explain:

Either he is not able to give his full attention to the car development due to the other demands placed on a TP...

OR

He actually needs someone to reign in his ideas a little bit and does not have that now.

The more I see of this car, the more it reminds me of the MP4/18 where Newey designed a car so extreme that it was never able to fulfill its theoretical potential.

I hope I'm wrong.

How Boring. We will see a unrestricted genius in Adrain Newey bearing his powers across an entire team in the coming years and you are afraid!

[PlatinumZealot]

I just want to know why the vibration were not identified during development when the pu was mated to the Gearbox, with all testbenchs they have in Sakura. It looks like they are doing it only now

It is difficult to do without driving the actual car or having the knowledge of previous. This exact same thing happened to Honda x Mclaren when they hit the track. Remember they kept breaking one of the oil pipes due to unforeseen vibrations.

[Bill]

I just want to know why the vibration were not identified during development when the pu was mated to the Gearbox, with all testbenchs they have in Sakura. It looks like they are doing it only now

It is difficult to do without driving the actual car or having the knowledge of previous. This exact same thing happened to Honda x Mclaren when they hit the track. Remember they kept breaking one of the oil pipes due to unforeseen vibrations.

No that's misleading statement. They are trying to identify source of vibration and is definitely not the engine. Aston is expected to make changes to their chassis. Honda has vibration issues in 2017 when the adopted prechamber technology but these time they are being used as a scapegoat. The whole saga stinks stroll said they were 4 second slow and they needed more power implying they is something wrong with the pu.i think the best approach would have been to admit that they are having vibration problems with the car and working on a solution simple.