Honda ‘not happy’ with performance and reliability amid fresh Aston Martin setback

F1 2026 testing ended on a bruising note for Aston Martin and Honda, as battery and engine spare parts issues wreaked havoc on track time.

Lance Stroll completed just six laps on the final day in Bahrain, as Thursday’s issues spilled over for Aston Martin and Honda. That meant very short stints and an early conclusion to Friday’s limited running. Honda is “not happy” with performance or reliability, but the Japanese manufacturer and Aston Martin is united as the search for “solutions” continues.

Aston Martin and Honda suffers in Bahrain

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There were always going to be hurdles for Aston Martin and Honda to overcome, as this exciting new partnership takes its first steps in F1 2026.

But, the scale of the challenges faced has impacted the pre-season programme for team and engine manufacturer.

Among said challenges was a battery issue which curtailed Fernando Alonso’s Thursday at the wheel of the AMR26.

His day ended at a respectable 68 laps completed, but, there were ramifications for the final day.

Stroll managed only six laps on Friday, failing to set a time, with the battery issue, plus a lack of spare parts for the power unit, forcing Aston Martin and Honda to significantly restrict its running.

The AMR26 has also struggled when it comes to performance, though Aston Martin ambassador Pedro de la Rosa assured that the team knows where its car requires improvement.

Following the final day of testing, Honda’s trackside general manager and chief engineer, Shintaro Orihara, admitted that the mileage target was not achieved during the second Bahrain test, and that Honda was not satisfied on a performance or reliability front.

Aston Martin completed less than 400 laps across the six days in Bahrain.

But, there is unity between Aston Martin and Honda as it searches for “solutions” to these teething issues.

“Our main target during this week’s test was to build up mileage on the power unit, check the engine reliability and gather data,” said Orihara.

“We collected data successfully; however, we didn’t achieve the accumulated mileage that we were targeting.

“On Thursday, we identified an issue in the power unit, and all of us have been uniting efforts to find a solution during our last day of testing.

“Overnight and today, HRC Sakura, the AMRTC in Silverstone and our crews in Bahrain worked together on a limited run plan, which was jointly agreed considering a shortage of parts.

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“It has been an enduring week, but we extend our thanks to the team for their support trackside and everyone working in Japan and the UK remotely.

“Overall, we are not happy with our performance and our reliability at the moment.

“However, we are all looking for solutions together in Sakura, Milton Keynes and Silverstone.”

The F1 2026 season begins in two weeks with the Australian Grand Prix, where Aston Martin and Honda will hope to arrive with some of the solutions which it is seeking.

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