Max Verstappen hopes the issues at Honda and Aston Martin are fixed quickly. The Japanese engine manufacturer is supplying power units this year, for the first time, to Red Bull’s British rival and has, so far, suffered a fair number of teething problems with the brand‑new engine. Even though his team no longer works with the Japanese company, Verstappen still prefers to see Honda succeed in Formula 1.
In 2026 Red Bull, after a years‑long partnership with Honda, is on the grid for the first time with a self‑produced power unit. Meanwhile the Japanese manufacturer is supplying power units to the Aston Martin team, but that hasn’t gone smoothly so far. The British outfit completed four hundred laps fewer than most other teams in the first test week in Bahrain, and Lance Stroll even stated the AMR26 is four seconds per lap slower than the competition.
The second test week hasn’t been much better. Fernando Alonso spent a long time in the garage on Wednesday morning in Bahrain, while Lance Stroll also couldn’t log many test kilometres after a spin. On Thursday Alonso was, once again, stationary on track during the afternoon session. Max Verstappen — who won all his world championships with a Honda engine in his car — has also seen how Red Bull’s former engine supplier is struggling.
“I don’t know exactly what they’re doing or what’s going on,” Verstappen says in Bahrain. “Of course I hope they get everything properly sorted, but I don’t know.” Although Honda is now working with a rival team, Verstappen still wishes the manufacturer well. “I can’t really say anything about their current situation, but I always like to see Honda do well in Formula 1.”
‘I don’t yet know where Red Bull stands’
Alongside Aston Martin’s form, the state of play at Red Bull was also discussed. Verstappen prefers not to make predictions yet about where his team sits relative to the competition. “I don’t know where we stand. We’re still trying a lot of things. Wednesday was not a good day for us,” Verstappen says, referring to the cooling problems team-mate Isack Hadjar faced. The French‑Algerian driver managed only 13 laps. “I know we still have a long way to go. You can’t expect everything to be perfect straight away, especially with our own engine. There are new regulations and you can see some teams now bringing upgrades to the car that look quite interesting. So yes, it’s impossible to say anything.”
See the F1 calendar for 2026 here
