In Formula 1, lubricants are often seen as background consumables – but in 2026, they will be part of how the power unit is managed.
As the Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team prepares to enter a new era with Honda power and new fuel under radically different regulations, Valvoline is pitching its role as something closer to performance infrastructure than conventional supplier support.
That view was echoed by new Aston Martin Team Principal Adrian Newey, who placed the power unit relationship at the centre of the 2026 challenge and framed the partner structure as a joint effort rather than a traditional hierarchy.
Representatives from Valvoline, Honda, and Aramco joined key Aston Martin figures at its 2026 livery launch. (Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team)
“I think the collaboration with the power units is such a central feature now with these cars and the integration of the power units with the chassis is absolutely vital,” Newey said during the livery launch event for the AMR26 in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
“So the triangular relationship between Honda, Aramco/Valvoline and ourselves is absolutely key to our joint success. And that’s what’s fabulous is that we have formed a truly equal partnership but it’s all down to us now.”
The timing matters. The 2026 regulations bring a revised hybrid architecture, different energy demands and a tighter focus on efficiency – all of which amplify the importance of performance being repeatable, predictable and thermally stable across a race weekend.
The triangular relationship between Honda, Aramco/Valvoline and ourselves is absolutely key to our joint success.
Adrian Newey
Jamal Muashsher, Chief Executive of Valvoline Global Operations, said the company’s return to F1 as a lubricant supplier in 2023 has led to a moment when the technical challenge creates a fresh development opportunity.
“To be able to come back after nearly 40 years and be a lubricant supplier, it provides us a great opportunity at a time when Formula 1 is reaching peak popularity, continues to grow,” Muashsher said.
“You also have these new technology challenges that are coming along. So for us, what’s different is, as the team has evolved to the new Honda power unit, is to be able to develop a solution and work side-by-side with the teams to come up with something that was going to maximise performance.”
Such collaborative efforts has meant Valvoline had to root itself with the team, aligning development work with how Aston Martin will run and manage its power unit in the new era.
Jamal Muashsher laid out Valvoline’s key role in Aston Martin’s racing processes. (Valvoline)
“Embedding ourselves with the great teams here to support this magnificent car, that’s where the teams had to really work together,” he added.
“Motor oil is critical to the protection of performance of the engine, which then means – how is the car actually going to perform on the track?
“So what’s critical in a Formula 1 engine in particular is it manages and impacts power efficiency, reliability, and durability.”
That requirement goes beyond protecting components and into how the engine behaves across a race weekend.
Managing friction and heat is only part of the equation. What race engineers value just as highly is consistency – knowing that the behaviour of the power unit will be repeatable from session to session, allowing them to calibrate the car accurately and make strategic decisions with confidence.
Muashsher explained that this is where lubrication begins to influence areas of performance that fans rarely see but engineers obsess over.
“For the race teams, they want to make sure that as they’re preparing for a race weekend, the consistency of how that motor oil is going to perform impacts race strategy, it impacts the performance of the engine, which then impacts the drivability, the calibration that they have,” he said.
“We want to win. And so we want to push the limits of science and physics to maximise and create a competitive advantage for the team.”
Valvoline’s role is less about durability and more about enabling Aston Martin to extract predictable, repeatable performance from a new Honda power unit under regulations that leave little margin for error.
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