Honda sets expectations ahead of ‘new spec’ Aston Martin update
Honda will introduce its upgraded power unit at this weekend's Dutch GP.
Honda chief engineer Shintaro Orihara has explained that, while he cannot predict an exact performance gain for its ‘new spec’ power unit in Zandvoort, it should be enough to help Aston Martin improve its lap times.
Aston Martin brought a significant 16-part chassis update to the Hungaroring last time out, and that will be complemented with what Honda say will be its only major power unit upgrade of the 2026 season.
Honda expects Aston Martin gains from updated power unit
Honda tested its new power unit during a filming day with Aston Martin before the summer break, and Orihara confirmed “the power unit works as expected on new chassis”, with both team and engine manufacturer having worked to address early vibration issues.
Honda was thought to have been the least powerful of the F1 2026 power units as it struggled early in the season, with Aston Martin’s drivers unable to complete early rounds due to significant vibrations running through their hands.
Orihara began media day at Zandvoort in light-hearted fashion, smiling while holding up a sign saying he can be asked anything bar ‘how many kilowatts = how much lap time’ gained, but is confident that Honda will bring its own performance gain with it to Zandvoort.
With both Honda and Aston Martin having delivered in-season updates, Orihara explained that, while difficult to put an exact number on how much this ‘new spec’ engine will bring, the Japanese power unit manufacturer is also remaining pragmatic about what it can achieve this season.
However, he did admit that all internal targets were achieved with the engine update.
“I can’t explain how much gap we can reduce by updating, but in Formula 1, we should be realistic, so we can’t bring that massive update, but we believe we bring some good steps by this update,” he explained to PlanetF1.com and other media in the Netherlands.
“So, we have some gap to complete that, but in Hungary, Aston Martin brings a big update, so we bugged less speed.
“Every 50 milliseconds or 100 milliseconds is very important to improve our position, and I believe our update can bring that type of improvement on lap times.
“When always we improve performance, we face a reliability issue. So, beginning of this development, we found something how to say challenging point for reliability.
“We took a long time to bring this engine to find the performance, and also to fix the reliability issue, so we have improved our reliability or durability before bringing the engine.
“So, our reliability, we achieved our internal target for reliability and also performance.”
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Honda’s update arrives with an eye on the future, with wider upgrades available to teams and power unit manufacturers between seasons rather than during the year.
Orihara emphasised the importance of this update working as expected to ensure Honda is working in the right vein for its future power units.
“We have the development plan to improve performance for the future,” he explained.
“We are not saying we’re going to be top competitor immediately, let’s say in Round 1 ’27, but we’ll bring some big steps.
“We are trying to bring big steps to ’27, and then for this event, an important point is this is part of development. So, if we confirm our direction is correct on track, that will give us some confidence our direction is correct.
“So, it’s quite important for us how this power unit works at Netherlands, not only in the performance side but also reliability side. That will give us some confidence for the direction is good.
“Then, we have some development plans for ’27 and ’28, but compared to that target for ’27, ’28, our target is to close and complete that step by step.”
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
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