Honda Adrift: The Next Moves to Emerge from the Crisis

Honda ended the first part of the 2026 season on an uphill path, with Luca Marini tenth in the riders’ standings and the brand’s best finisher. The reality is far from expectations, but the Golden Wing team is already working toward the next MotoGP championship.

After the first 11 races, Honda has collected 109 points in the championship, whereas in the same period last year it had 141. The gap is considerable and explains why there is some disappointment within HRC over the RC213V’s performance. Team manager Alberto Puig cannot hide a certain dissatisfaction within the walls of the Japanese marque, even though the bike has shown some improvement compared to the previous year.

In 2025 Honda scored a win at a wet Le Mans and three podiums in the dry. Those results suggested a resurgence for the Tokyo manufacturer, but the current results tell a very different story. Luca Marini and Joan Mir both managed a fifth place as their best result in the first part of this World Championship. But the gap to rival manufacturers remains quite substantial, and the team is struggling to translate its technical progress into top positions.

Honda is already focusing a significant portion of its resources on developing the new 2027 prototypes, which will race under the new regulations. This situation forces them to ease off a bit in the current championship. “Thinking about next year’s bikes, we’ve improved the bike a little, but probably not enough to take another step,” the Catalan manager explained to the official MotoGP website.

The goal is to make the most of every Grand Prix and ensure that the available updates have a greater impact during race weekends. “I think it’s not that simple, because everyone is thinking about the new bike.” HRC is confident that the progress made on the current RC-V can prove useful for next year’s prototype. Meanwhile, work is also underway on riders and technical staff

One of the biggest names in play is David Alonso. The rising star has signed a multi-year contract with the Asian giant, although his destination is still unknown: the factory team or LCR. The reason is straightforward: Diogo Moreira is doing very well in his rookie year. He has scored points almost every Sunday and even set an exceptional lap time in Hungary, finishing sixth.

In any case, it will be Santi Hernandez, former crew chief to Marc Marquez, who will work alongside Alonso. If Moreira does indeed move to the factory team, his garage crew would change completely. The Brazilian would stop working with Klaus Nohles and would instead team up with Andres Madrid. This engineer boasts an impeccable Formula 1 résumé and has already worked with Brad Binder and Enea Bastianini.

The first major change bears the name Fabio Quartararo, who will begin this adventure without his trusted technician, Diego Gubellini. But the French rider will not arrive empty-handed from the Yamaha garage. In fact, he will bring along a specialist in electronics and tire management: engineer Ignacio Madurga. The second change is tied to Davide Brivio, who is leaving the helm of the Trackhouse team to take on a central role within the garage.

Meanwhile, Aleix Espargaro is also preparing for the important 850cc MotoGP test phase with an intensive training program after a long injury. Nothing is being left to chance within HRC’s walls. The goal is to reclaim the world crown after the last title won in 2019.

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