Marco Bezzecchi
Honda’s MotoGP team are now anxious that the HRC leadership could focus on fixing Aston Martin’s F1 engine at their expense amid a very bleak start to the 2026 season.
Joan Mir and Luca Marini have reaped the rewards of the hard work that Honda have put in over recent years to move their works MotoGP team back up the grid. No team made more progress in 2025 than Honda, who also enjoyed a very competitive start to 2026 in Thailand.
Mir was fighting for P5 in the 2026 season-opening Thailand Grand Prix before he suffered a reliability failure with five laps to go. Team boss Alberto Puig noted ahead of the season that Honda are targeting race wins in 2026, too, as the RC213V is lighter and has a better engine.
How likely Honda are to realising Puig’s ambitions could depend on how the HRC leadership reacts to the problems that Aston Martin are now suffering in F1. Honda have started a new engine partnership with Aston Martin this term, but reliability issues are holding them back.
Predict the order of the Honda riders in the 2026 MotoGP standings
Honda’s MotoGP team fear HRC will make fixing Aston Martin’s F1 engine the priority
Aston Martin were forced to turn the 2026 F1 season-opening Australian Grand Prix into an extended test last week, as Honda are seriously lacking spare parts – especially the battery. Honda’s engine is causing excessive vibrations that are shaking Aston Martin’s car to pieces.
READ MORE: 2027 MotoGP regulations explained, from 850cc engines to aero restrictions
Honda’s issues with Aston Martin in Formula 1 may now impact their MotoGP team, as well. According to Motorsport.com, an unnamed Honda executive has suggested the situation at HRC will ‘certainly’ impact their MotoGP project, as Aston Martin’s F1 engine is the priority.
Having made more progress than any other MotoGP team in 2025, Honda were keen to see further progress in 2026. But Honda’s MotoGP team are now ‘anxious’ that HRC bosses will focus on fixing Aston Martin’s F1 engine as the two divisions share the same basic structure.
Koji Watanabe, the president of HRC, decided in 2022 to unite the Japanese giant’s two and four-wheeled operations under one umbrella to optimise resources and utilise overlapping working synergies. But Watanabe’s decision could now hurt Honda’s MotoGP team in 2026.
HRC focusing on Aston Martin’s F1 engine could hurt Honda under MotoGP’s 2027 regulations
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Should Watanabe and the HRC hierarchy decide to focus Honda’s resources on fixing Aston Martin’s F1 engine above all else, even at the expense of their MotoGP team, then Mir and Marini could feel the consequences by receiving far fewer upgrades that could lead to wins.
But potentially worse for Honda’s MotoGP team may be the price they could pay under the 2027 regulations. Honda are still developing their RC213V in the final season of the 1,000cc regulations, but their attentions are also on 2027 with MotoGP introducing 850cc engines.
Honda will want to hit the ground running in 2027, with MotoGP also set to introduce more aero restrictions and a ban on ride height devices. Pirelli is even replacing Michelin as the sole tyre provider in 2027, so any setbacks now could have long-lasting effects for Honda.
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