After the first free practice sessions in Melbourne, Aston Martin fears for its participation in the Grand Prix. Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso can only drive the AMR26 to a limited extent, mainly due to the deficient Honda engine. The vibration problems, which could potentially even cause nerve damage to the drivers, and a lack of spare parts are worrying Adrian Newey. How could it have come to this? The team principal exposes the problems at Honda.
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During the official FIA press conference, Adrian Newey made it clear that the blame does not lie solely with the engine supplier. “We are jointly responsible for the package; the chassis and the powertrain make the car,” he explained. Nevertheless, he felt the need to further explain the problems at the engine supplier. “A bit of background information is very important,” the team principal began his story. “Honda withdrew from Formula 1 at the end of 2021. Towards the end of 2022, they made their return. At that point, they had been absent for about a year, a year and a half.”
‘Engine engineers are now working on solar panels’
“During the regrouping, it turned out that a large part of the original engine group had broken up,” he explained. “Many engineers are now working on solar panels or something similar. So the vast majority of the engine team is actually new to Formula 1. They lack the experience they previously had.” The budget cap also threw a spanner in the works, Newey explained. “Furthermore, their return in 2023 coincided with the first year of the budget cap for engines. All competitors had already been working on the new powertrain for two years at that point, without budget restrictions and with their trusted teams.”
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“Honda returned with about thirty percent of the original team, at a time when spending was being restricted,” Newey summarized. “So they started with a significant disadvantage and have unfortunately struggled to make up that ground.” For Aston Martin, it is currently unclear when improvements can be expected. “It is very difficult to predict at the moment,” said the team principal. “I think Honda is clearly taking action to reduce the vibrations. There will be no quick fix, as such problems require fundamental changes in balance and damping. Once they have that sorted, they can really start focusing on performance. But right now, all attention is on this vibration problem.”
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