It must feel a little like Groundhog Day for Honda in their new venture with Aston Martin as the Japanese manufacturer’s poor performance and unreliability is remarkably similar to when they partnered up with McLaren on their return to Formula 1 in 2015.
But it is their response to that woe – where they switched to Red Bull and emerged at the other end of the tunnel with one of the best engines in the sport that yielded race wins and World Championships with Max Verstappen – that gives them hope they can recover.