Aston Martin's F1 Woes Deepen with Honda Issues

Honda Power unit issue hits Aston Martin in Bahrain

Aston Martin's pre-season testing woes continue with Honda power unit issue in Bahrain, limiting track time. Fernando Alonso stays positive despite Aston Martin's struggles with Honda engine and limited mileage in F1 testing.

“We're still going step-by-step into the car. We are a little bit on the back foot...”

Aston Martin's struggles continued on Friday as a Honda power unit issue sidelined the team on the final day of pre-season testing in Bahrain. The Silverstone-based team has completed significantly less mileage than rivals, arriving late for the initial shakedown in Barcelona and struggling with reliability in the two Bahrain tests.

Despite these setbacks, Fernando Alonso remains confident, stating that the AMR26 has the best chassis. However, the team is facing challenges with the Honda power unit, which is reportedly down on power and efficiency. Honda has acknowledged the issues and is working to resolve them, but Aston Martin's limited track time is a significant concern.

Honda blamed a battery issue for Fernando Alonso's struggles in the Adrian Newey-designed car on Thursday, saying it impacted his stint.

“Since then, ‌we have been carrying out simulations on the test bench in HRC (Honda Racing Corporation) Sakura. Due to this and a shortage of power unit ‌parts, we have adapted today's (Friday's) run plan ⁠to be very limited and ‌consist only of short stints.”

Lance Stroll's day didn't go as planned - the Canadian driver was set for an installation lap but didn't set a time, unlike Ferrari's Charles Leclerc who topped the charts with 80 laps.

“We are not where we wanted to be. We have not done many laps but we have an enormous amount of data for Australia,” team director Pedro de la Rosa told Sky Sports television.

“I'm not worried about Adrian's capabilities,” Fernando Alonso said, backing his team's chief technical officer.

“We need to unlock more performance,” said the double world champion. “We're still going step-by-step into the car. We are a little bit on the back foot, we have to admit that, but hopefully there is time to improve.

“On the chassis, there is no doubt, we have the best with us. After 30-plus years of Adrian Newey dominating the sport, I think no one ‌will doubt that we will find a way to have the best car eventually,” added the Spaniard.

“On the power unit, ‌we need to wait and see when we unlock all the performance, where we are and what is missing, and then work hard.'”

An update from #F1Testing in Bahrain.
@PedrodelaRosa1 pic.twitter.com/BkYrMQzYD3

— Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) February 20, 2026

Aston Martin's shares took a hit, dropping over 4% after the luxury sportscar maker warned of a bigger annual loss than expected. This comes as the team faces challenges in Formula 1, with Honda power unit issues and limited testing time in Bahrain.

The F1 season is just around the corner, kicking off in Australia on March 8. Aston Martin will need to address its reliability and performance concerns to turn things around. Honda has acknowledged the issues and is working with the team to find solutions.