{"id":423605,"date":"2026-01-21T12:43:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T12:43:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/423605\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T12:43:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T12:43:07","slug":"formula-1-newshonda-admits-early-2026-engine-struggle-possible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/423605\/","title":{"rendered":"Formula 1 News:Honda admits early 2026 engine struggle possible"},"content":{"rendered":"

(GMM) Honda has openly acknowledged it may start the 2026 Formula 1 season on the back foot, despite high expectations surrounding its new works partnership with Aston Martin<\/a> and the arrival of Adrian Newey\u2019s first car under the new rules.<\/p>\n

At the unveiling of its 2026 power unit in Tokyo<\/a>, senior Honda figures conceded that recent paddock rumors about difficulties on the internal combustion engine side may not be unfounded.<\/p>\n

\u201cElectrification is progressing according to plan,\u201d said Tetsushi Kakuda, project leader. \u201cHowever, that doesn\u2019t necessarily apply to the combustion engine.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, a lot depends on the development time available. Taking that into account, we believe we\u2019ve done everything we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

The comments mark a notably cautious tone from Honda, which returns as a full works supplier in 2026 after stepping back into a technical partnership role with Red Bull in recent seasons. While the electrical side of the new hybrid power unit appears on schedule, Kakuda made clear that progress has not been uniform across all areas.<\/p>\n

Honda president Koji Watanabe echoed that realism, stressing the scale of the challenge posed by the radically revised regulations.<\/p>\n

\"\"Honda Motor Corporation\u2019s President and Representative Executive Officer, Toshihiro Mibe and Honda President Koji Watanabe. Image supplied by Honda<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we participate, we want to win,\u201d Watanabe said. \u201cHowever, the 2026 rules are technically very challenging, and perhaps we are going to have a hard time.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that Honda simply does not yet know where it stands relative to rivals. \u201cAt the moment, we have not tested on the track and we do not know what the gap to the competition is,\u201d Watanabe said. \u201cWe need to see how it goes as soon as the test days begin. In the long run, we\u2019re aiming to fight for championships.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first real benchmark will come next week in Barcelona, where winter group testing \u2013 initially behind closed doors \u2013 begins. Rumor in the paddock suggest Aston Martin and Honda may even face a tight race to be fully ready for the opening test.<\/p>\n

Away from the technical questions, Honda\u2019s influence on driver matters is also under discussion. With Yuki Tsunoda currently listed as a Red Bull reserve, speculation persists that Honda would like to see him freed from that arrangement as its Aston Martin partnership gathers momentum.<\/p>\n

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, speaking in Tokyo, urged patience for the Japanese driver.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs you know, Yuki Tsunoda will be serving as reserve driver this year, and he needs to persevere because opportunities may still arise,\u201d Domenicali said. \u201cHe needs to be ready for them. I sincerely wish this for him, because he\u2019s a great guy, and our sport will still need him.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(GMM) Honda has openly acknowledged it may start the 2026 Formula 1 season on the back foot, despite…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":423606,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-423605","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-formula-1","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-f1","11":"tag-formula-1","12":"tag-formula1","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=423605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423605\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/423606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=423605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=423605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=423605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}