The blame has been laid at Adrian Newey’s door in a recent report in the Japanese media in regards to the nightmare partnership between Honda and Aston Martin. <\/p>\n
\nAs the start of the F1 2026 season rolled around earlier this month, it became clear that Aston Martin were far off from where they had hoped to be <\/a>coming into the sport’s new regulations cycle.
<\/p>\n \nFor 2026 and beyond, F1’s power unit and chassis regulations have been entirely overhauled<\/a>, with Honda tasked with assisting Aston Martin and Newey as they tackle the change.
<\/p>\n Article continues under video<\/p>\n \nAfter arriving late to January’s Barcelona shakedown<\/a> and putting in the least amount of laps of any team in the February pre-season tests, the drastic extent of Aston Martin’s true struggles have now been revealed in the opening rounds of this year’s campaign.
<\/p>\n \nNeither Fernando Alonso nor Lance Stroll have been able to complete a full grand prix<\/a> in 2026, suffering persistent issues with the Honda power unit.
<\/p>\n \nThe vibrations coming from the Honda PU have been reported to now be so bad that Stroll and Alonso fear they are at risk of suffering permanent nerve damage<\/a> as a result, with the Spanish driver even seen removing his hands from the steering wheel entirely<\/a> at last weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, clearly suffering.
<\/p>\n \nAnd as the F1 2026 crisis continues at Aston Martin, their managing technical partner Newey has been named in Japanese media as the man who set Honda off on the wrong course.
<\/p>\n \nREAD MORE: Aston Martin bombshell drops as F1 team principal exit announced<\/a>
<\/p>\n Newey arrival ‘forced significant Honda changes’<\/p>\n \nAhead of Honda’s home grand prix in Japan next weekend, Japanese outlet Autosport Web Japan<\/a> have published a report from Andrew Garrison, described as a ‘beloved veteran in the motorsport world’, claiming Newey is at fault for Honda’s F1 disaster.
<\/p>\n \nHaving also scolded Newey and Aston Martin’s chief strategy officer Andy Cowell<\/a>, the latest report from Garrison read: “I understand that things were going smoothly until Newey joined Aston Martin. The power unit architecture had been finalised, agreement had been reached on the layout for the battery and cooling systems, and the integration work was progressing without a hitch.
<\/p>\n \n“However, the new boss arrived at Silverstone and, upon seeing the basic design of the AMR26, decided to scrap everything and start almost from scratch.
<\/p>\n \n“As a result, Honda was forced to make significant changes to the package. In short, that is why it is not performing well at the moment.
<\/p>\n \n“After all, there were only seven months between Honda understanding what Newey wanted from the power unit and actually getting it out on the track on the final day of testing in Barcelona.”
<\/p>\n When is the next F1 race?<\/p>\n \nAfter a fast turnaround between the 2026 season opener and the second round, fans and drivers can breathe easy for a moment given that there is now a week off until the third race weekend of the championship.
<\/p>\n \nThe next grand prix is not until Sunday, March 29 in Suzuka as the Japanese Grand Prix returns before a long break in April following confirmation from F1 that both the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs have been cancelled<\/a> due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
<\/p>\n