Comments earlier this month from Adrian Newey indicated Aston Martin only realised the true state of Honda’s returning F1 program during a meeting in Tokyo last November.
But Honda Racing Corporation president Watanabe said the circumstances were more nuanced.
“Basically, I think that it’s a misunderstanding,” Watanabe said at Suzuka.
Honda stepped away from Formula 1 at the end of 2021 before committing to the new 2026 regulations, meaning its program had to be rebuilt after a period of limited activity.
During that time, engineers were reassigned across the company, which contributed to the perception that the operation had changed significantly since its successful Red Bull partnership.
“Our policy is to rotate the engineers of the motorsports regularly to mass production, or more advanced technologies like jet, or eVTOL [hybrid-electric aircraft] or hydrology, or something like that,” Watanabe explained.
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The rebuild inevitably took time, though Watanabe stressed the organisation is now fully staffed.
“To rebuild the organisation takes good time,” he added.
“So that was his worry, I think so. But we have sufficient organisation and the talent.”
The Honda-Aston Martin partnership has faced early challenges in the opening phase of the 2026 season, with vibration issues linked to the power unit emerging once the engine was integrated into the chassis.
Watanabe said those issues were not fully visible during initial testing.
“In the tests on the dyno the vibration is on an acceptable level, but once we integrate it in the actual chassis, that vibration is getting much more than the tests on the dyno,” he said.
Watanabe added that Honda is now working closely with Aston Martin to address the problem.
Despite the early hurdles, Watanabe insisted the relationship between the two organisations remains strong.
“The relationship between Aston Martin, Aramco and Honda is quite good,” he said.
“Myself and Mr. [Lawrence] Stroll, or myself and Adrian Newey, is quite a good relation, so I have no worry about that.”
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