Aston Martin Honda dilemma as Lewis Hamilton receives F1 2026 title boost – round-up

Jamie Woodhouse 23 Feb 2026 10:00 PM

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin, left, and Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, right

As the countdown continues to Melbourne, Adrian Newey, Honda, and Lewis Hamilton all feature in the latest F1 news headlines.

The path to happier times for Aston Martin and Honda has been put under the microscope, while Lewis Hamilton has received backing to return to form, which could see him challenge for the F1 2026 Drivers’ title. All of this and more, so let’s get to it.

Could ADUO come to Aston Martin and Honda rescue?

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust.

Honda could benefit greatly from this initiative introduced by the FIA for struggling engine manufacturers, writes PlanetF1.com’s Thomas Maher, with Aston Martin’s team boss and design guru Adrian Newey also having a pivotal part to play.

Aston Martin’s Bahrain testing was interrupted with reliability issues, while the final day and a half was lost almost entirely through a battery issue and lack of Honda engine spare parts.

Thomas has taken a deep dive into the state of play at Aston Martin and Honda, with less than two weeks to go before the season begins in Melbourne.

Lewis Hamilton an F1 2026 title contender?

He could be, based on the comments made by Williams’ Alex Albon.

Ferrari impressed across Bahrain testing, and Albon believes that this new generation F1 car will play to Hamilton’s strengths, as he resumes his chase of a record eighth World Championship.

Jolyon Palmer detects Mercedes statement in Bahrain

Alongside Ferrari, nods and winks are also being sent the way of Mercedes as an F1 2026 powerhouse.

Palmer believes that Mercedes deliberately snubbed the opportunity for all-out performance runs at the end of Bahrain testing. He thinks that “speaks volumes.”

Jeremy Clarkson drops ‘Don’t Break Down To Survive’ warning

Bahrain testing did flag up issues with the new formula. A blue-light start procedure tweak appears to have alleyed safety fears over race starts.

But, the drivers are not too enamoured with the battery management which will be needed for success in F1 2026.

Celebrity F1 fan Jeremy Clarkson raised starts and batteries, plus reliability and performance gaps as his F1 2026 concerns. He quipped that this year will not be ‘Drive to Survive’, but rather, ‘Don’t Break Down To Survive’.

Otmar Szafnauer safe after in-flight scare

Otmar Szafnauer, the former Aston Martin and Alpine team boss, walked away unscathed when the airplane which he was flying in from Savannah to Atlanta suffered a mechanical issue that resulted in a fire.

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Ferrari Lewis Hamilton