Aston Martin: Newey’s plan is taking shape, but Honda is still 70hp short
Piergiuseppe Donadoni
Aston Martin realised months ago that a change was needed. The AMR26, designed with an extreme aerodynamic philosophy, did not deliver the results the team had expected and, after months of development, the project began to take a different direction on the track as well. The updates introduced, particularly in Hungary but also in the Netherlands, are therefore not simply a new aerodynamic package but represent a genuine change of direction.
Aston Martin: the new AMR26-B wins Alonso over
The initial concept based on high-rake – so dear to Adrian Newey – proved too difficult to exploit under the 2026 regulations. The idea was ambitious: to utilise a greater rake angle to feed the underbody and build an extremely efficient aerodynamic platform. In reality, however, Aston Martin failed to ensure the rear had the flow stability required for that concept to work to its full potential. And so Newey had to acknowledge that the path taken was not the right one and correct it.
A very comprehensive package arrived in Budapest, capable of modifying various elements of the AMR26 and, above all, bringing the car’s behaviour closer to that of the other cars on the grid. Work continued at Zandvoort with further modifications, confirming that Aston Martin has established a new development base, which will be further updated between Monza and Baku, including in terms of weight (one of the AMR26’s most pressing issues at the start of the season).
However, the return to a more conventional configuration should not be interpreted as a definitive abandonment of the high-rake setup. On the contrary, it could be exactly the opposite, given that Aston Martin is reportedly building the necessary platform today to be able to raise the rake again tomorrow.
The regulatory changes planned by the FIA for 2027, particularly those affecting the front section of the flat underbody, will alter the way teams manage airflow beneath the car; a concept that is currently difficult to make work could therefore become much more interesting under the new regulations, according to a leading engineer currently working in F1.
And this is where Newey could return to the forefront. The work carried out over the course of this season, which has helped to better understand the new aerodynamic platform, paves the way for what could be the next step: gradually returning to that higher-rake philosophy which, with the AMR26-B, had to be scaled back.
Aston Martin: Honda’s delay is a cause for serious concern
But there is a problem. And it is not a minor one. It is called the Honda Power Unit. Because whilst the chassis finally seems to have taken a truly promising direction, the Japanese engine continues to be the AMR26’s main limitation. At Zandvoort, Honda introduced an update delivering around 17hp, 2 tenths as anticipated – a good increase but still far from the potential the new specification can actually deliver (30hp). This was also confirmed by Honda itself in recent hours via Shintaro Orihara: “Performance will improve as we implement measures and continue with optimisation”. However, complicating matters over the Dutch weekend was the fact that the power gain was virtually imperceptible in terms of lap times, as the new engine specification had already experienced significant issues with optimising its utilisation during the filming day in Hungary. We won’t go into too much detail, but there is talk of an engine braking setting during downshifting and erratic braking, as well as the torque curve during acceleration and other minor issues.
According to information held by AutoRacer, the Honda Power Unit is still some 70hp short of Mercedes, which is currently the benchmark for everyone in the field. This gap, on average, amounts to around 1.2 seconds per lap and, crucially, is not a deficit that Honda will be able to close with a single update. An engine specialist close to the Ferrari camp believes that it could take as long as two years of development to fully close a gap of this magnitude, as anticipated in the last YouTube live stream. This suggests just how complex the road ahead is for the Japanese engine manufacturer.
Within Aston Martin, the situation is therefore being viewed with a certain degree of despondency. It is no coincidence that the Silverstone-based team’s management has already held talks with Mercedes and Red Bull Powertrains to explore the possibility (as things stand, remote) of them supplying engines from the 2028 season onwards. Whilst the chassis project is finally beginning to deliver, there is a feeling that the potential of the 2027 car will continue to be heavily hampered by a Power Unit that is not up to scratch.
Honda, for its part, maintains a more positive outlook, even though the Japanese manufacturer does not expect to start 2027 with the best engine on the grid. The aim, however, is to use the winter and the coming season to continue making up ground, in the belief that it can make a significant leap forward during 2027 itself.
And this is Aston Martin’s real gamble. Whilst Newey has already addressed the present to build the future in the very short term, Honda must accept that it is not yet able to bridge the gap quickly. And whilst the chassis, after a difficult few months, seems to have finally found its direction, the engine, on the other hand, remains a long way off.
So there is just one question: when will Aston Martin finally manage to combine world-class aerodynamics with a Power Unit that’s up to the task? That 45-year-old, Fernando Alonso, would love to have the answer straight away, however; he has found the answers he was looking for on the car side and is therefore increasingly inclined to renew his contract to see what might happen next season.
imo they put the blame a bit too much on Honda considering how underwhelming this team has been for 3 years with merc engines but there is useful information there. looks like i got the 1.2s right at least
