Why Honda Only Realised the Scale of Its F1 Problems in January

Shintaro Orihara, Honda's trackside manager and chief engineer, has revealed that the Japanese manufacturer only grasped the full extent of its problems in January, following a shakedown in Barcelona. Honda realised that the performance and reliability of its power unit would not be competitive at the start of the 2026 F1 season.

This season has been a tough test for Aston Martin and Honda after renewing their partnership. Mike Krack admitted that the team was barely racing before the summer break, trailing newcomer Cadillac by around one second. However, the issues are not solely chassis-related; Honda has also struggled with vibrations affecting drivers and a significant performance deficit.

In an exclusive interview with Autosport, Orihara explained that at the end of last year, their position was not bad. But in January, they found performance was inconsistent, and reliability issues emerged. "We realised that our performance and reliability would not be competitive," Orihara said.

Read AlsoHonda admits it only realised scale of F1 problems in January

Battery-related issues added complexity and cost valuable track time during winter testing, crucial for gathering data to recover. "We didn't expect it to be so bad," Orihara admitted.

Orihara stressed that no single component is the main culprit; the combination of major regulation changes is the biggest challenge. MGU-K power increased from 120 kW to 350 kW, and fuel flow rates also changed drastically. "Everything changed at the same time," he explained.

Honda also highlighted the removal of MGU-H, which has a significant impact on drivability. "Keeping boost pressure at a target is difficult," Orihara said. Despite this, Honda hopes the Zandvoort upgrade, focused on the internal combustion engine, will be the first step to reducing the performance deficit.

Reported by Autosport, Honda acknowledges it will take time to become competitive again but is optimistic about the initial step at Zandvoort. The upgrade was already tested during a filming day at the Hungaroring.