Fernando Alonso says Aston Martin has found three seconds over two Formula 1 race weekends. The Spaniard scored points for only the second time in 2026 with ninth at the Dutch GP—the team's best finish of the season.
Honda, Aston Martin's engine supplier, also claims its new engine that arrived at Zandvoort hit its key target. Sounds promising, right? Not entirely.
Lance Stroll still describes the car as a lottery to drive. Both drivers and team principal Adrian Newey pinpointed the same engine issue after the race, now a priority to fix.
In an exclusive interview with The Race, Honda's F1 chief engineer Shintaro Orihara revealed the inside story of the new engine's development. From Honda's perspective, there were reasons for encouragement after the Dutch GP. The revised power unit had no reliability issues all weekend, and Orihara was pleased that "everything was working as expected" with cooling and lubrication.
On extra power, Honda didn't reveal exact figures, but it's likely in the 10-30bhp range. "We achieved our internal target from the dyno and confirmed the same improvement trackside," said Orihara. However, he admitted Honda is "still far away" from F1's top manufacturers, with one big fix still needed.
That issue is driveability—the engine's response to driver inputs, including under braking. In the hybrid era, the engine switches from powering the rear wheels to acting as a generator (via MGU-K) to charge the battery. This complex synchronization is a major challenge.
Orihara stressed, "We know there is room to improve our driveability, and this remains paramount for the next races." Drivers, Newey, and even Honda itself are aligned on this. Improving driveability will be key for Aston Martin and Honda to progress this season.
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