Honda reveals findings after Alonso engine ‘oscillations’ team radio

As the new-look Aston Martin AMR26 hit the track in Hungary, Fernando Alonso raised an early alarm over Honda engine oscillations.

Shintaro Orihara, Honda’s trackside general manager and chief engineer, said that this could be seen in the data. Orihara explained the steps which Honda took to make “good progress” throughout the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Honda details ‘oscillations’ situation at Hungarian GP

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The Aston Martin AMR26 B-spec arrived to great fanfare at the Hungaroring. The 16-part chassis upgrade delivered, as Aston Martin went from detached at the back, to beating Cadilliac, Williams, and mixing it up with Haas and Alpine.

Reliability was also there as both AMR26s made the chequered flag, Lance Stroll finishing P13, one place ahead of Alonso.

One piece of Alonso radio during the first practice session did generate attention. He could be heard complaining of engine oscillations down the main straight in seventh gear at one stage.

That raised alarm bells for some. Aston Martin-Honda was blighted by battery vibration issues in the early rounds of F1 2026.

But, when quizzed on the matter by PlanetF1.com, Orihara detailed how the situations differ, and Honda’s route to achieving “good progress.”

“So that is not a vibration issue. That is oscillations,” he said. “It’s a different issue we had in winter testing.

“We observed an engine oscillation issue on both cars in FP1.

“From our analysis, that was coming from an engine combustion characteristic. Probably coming from engine temperature itself.

“We started a bit on the conservative side, because this is the new chassis.

“Then engine temperature was not optimised, so we adjusted some data settings to optimise it.

“Also, we reduced some margins through the sessions, and then I think, session by session, the oscillations got better. We have made good progress on the oscillations.”

For only the third time this season, both Aston Martins made the finish line in Hungary.

Mike Krack, the team’s chief trackside officer, explained why reliability has been a critical focus for the team as it begins its road to recovery.

“It’s not a secret that we had issues at the beginning of the year, and you don’t only look at the performance development, but you also look at the reliability,” Krack told PlanetF1.com and others, “because no performance in the world will help you if the car breaks down.

“Together with Orihara San, we said many times at the beginning of the year that the most important thing is that we finish races, that we learn driveability, shifting, energy management.

“I think it is only through step-by-step learning that you can make the car reliable, by fixing all the mistakes that you did before, fixing the issues that you are having.”

More on Aston Martin and Honda from PlanetF1.com

Watch: Aston Martin debuts upgraded Honda engine at Hungaroring

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Honda’s upgraded engine made its debut in the AMR26 B-spec as part of a Hungaroring filming day, following the Hungarian Grand Prix.

It will enter official competition at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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