Shintaro Orihara and Mike Krack—chief engineer at Honda and trackside performance director at Aston Martin, respectively—explained how both sides worked together to maintain a strong relationship despite a rocky start to their partnership in the 2026 Formula 1 season. In an interview attended by GRANDE PRÊMIO after the Belgian GP, the executives stressed that the most important thing is for each side to admit their own mistakes and move forward in pursuit of the best possible results.

Aiming to become one of the sport’s powerhouse teams, the Silverstone-based squad invested heavily in its facilities and in signing major technical talent, such as Adrian Newey—the mastermind behind some of the most dominant race cars in history. However, the collaboration has not yielded the expected results, with issues arising both in the power unit and the chassis design of the AMR26.

In an effort to turn things around, Aston Martin brought its first major upgrade package for this weekend’s Hungarian GP, while Honda promised a new engine for the Dutch GP in late August, which marks F1’s return after the summer break.

While the future remains uncertain, the recent past has been tough to swallow. During a press conference in Spa-Francorchamps, Orihara was asked what the two partners did to stay united amid the absolute chaos of 2026. Up to this point, the team has managed to score just 1 point in the Constructors’ Championship, courtesy of Fernando Alonso at the Monaco GP.

“Since pre-season testing in Barcelona, we’ve had a very difficult time. But it was precisely during those moments that we managed to strengthen our relationship. We built a very solid foundation for working together. Over these past five months, our trackside operations have evolved significantly. Working alongside Aston Martin has been a huge milestone for us,” the Honda representative began.

“We also learned a lot about energy management. Here in Belgium, for example, it was a very demanding circuit for the power unit, but we gained valuable insights. In every difficult moment, there is an opportunity to learn, and that was very important for us,” he noted.

F1 2026, SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, CORRIDA, ASTON MARTIN, FERNANDO ALONSO
Fernando Alonso finished the Belgian GP in 19th and last place (Photo: Aston Martin)

“It was really tough. It’s very easy to point fingers, but we and our partners sat down together and said, ‘We’re in this together, and we’ll get out of this together.’ We knew we would face many difficult moments. We had several meetings to discuss it, and honestly, our relationship has grown much stronger,” he highlighted.

“And not just between the two of us speaking here,” he continued, referring to Krack. “This happened in the garage, in the engineering room, and across the entire technical collaboration between Silverstone and Sakura. As I said, believe me, it was very hard. But these are experiences you have to go through in order to evolve,” Orihara added.

Aston Martin’s track director also spoke up, echoing a similar line of thought. The Luxembourgian emphasized that the pressure had to be shared equally between the team and the Japanese manufacturer, both of which drew valuable lessons from the ordeal.

“I said something back in Bahrain. I mentioned that the sleepless nights and the pressure we were getting from you, the journalists, actually brought us together very quickly. We knew we were in this together. There was no point in getting frustrated, no matter how hard it was at times. We needed to act with maturity and professionalism to find a way out,” he commented.

F1 2026, BÉLGICA, SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, RODRIGO RUIZ, CLASSIFICAÇÃO, SÁBADO, ASTON MARTIN, LANCE STROLL, CARRO
Lance Stroll suffered issues and retired in Spa-Francorchamps (Photo: Rodrigo Ruiz/Grande Prêmio)

“And if we manage to get back to being competitive soon, maybe we can look back at these last six months and take away all the positive lessons from the experience. Perhaps not as much from a technical standpoint, but mainly in terms of human collaboration and teamwork,” Krack concluded.

Formula 1 returns July 24–26 in Budapest, host of the Hungarian GP, the 11th round of the 2026 season.

F1 Hungarian GP: when to watch in US ET, London, New Delhi (India), Shanghai (China) and Sydney (Australia)

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