Honda has quietly slipped an upgraded turbocharger into its Formula 1 power unit at the Spanish Grand Prix last month, utilizing the second of its Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) tokens. The revelation came to light at Sepang, uncovering a covert strategy that had been hidden within FIA documents.
Previously, Honda debuted a 'spec 2' power unit at the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort in late August, initially framing it as the only ADUO upgrade for 2026. That's despite Honda, along with Ferrari, being judged more than 4% off the benchmark power unit, Red Bull, in the ADUO engine catch-up system introduced this year, granting them two upgrade opportunities.
But the truth is different. In Madrid, Lance Stroll received a new turbocharger in his Aston Martin. His teammate, Fernando Alonso, got the update later in Baku at the Azerbaijan GP. Both drivers taking new turbochargers are listed in public FIA documents, but without team or manufacturer confirmation, it's impossible to know if they are upgraded.
"So Zandvoort is the first event we introduced the spec 2 engine, then we believe there was still room to improve performance by changing calibration and we have been working on the area to improve performance," explained Shintaro Orihara, Honda's chief engineer and trackside manager. "It's not a big improvement from calibration but we keep working to find some small performance gain."
Orihara then revealed that in Madrid and Baku, they introduced an updated turbocharger using ADUO 2. "We found some room to improve on boost following, the main effect on driveability. So we introduced an updated turbocharger to improve boost following and we confirmed the effect in Baku where boost following is quite important."
The upgrade is not just about peak power. Honda has been working hard to improve the driveability of its power unit, and the ADUO 2 turbocharger is part of that. "Also if we have boost lag at the exit of corner, we could also have engine torque lag, then we need to use MGU-K to compensate that torque lag, that sacrificed some energy which we wanted to use," Orihara added. "So the updated turbocharger will help driveability but also give us some gain on energy management. Still I'm talking not a big number, still a small number, but we will keep pushing to find that type of small improvement."
Now that both ADUO tokens are used, Honda can only optimize its current package, with attention already turned to a big step for 2027. "We're missing two seconds on engine, it's difficult in places like Baku and Monza," Stroll said at Sepang. "On the car side, we know we started late compared to everyone else. We made a big step in Budapest, we have a clear direction on what we have to do on car development. But we're lacking between a second and a half..."
For Honda, the 2026 adventure is about maximizing every regulatory loophole. Although the turbocharger upgrade doesn't drastically change the competitive landscape, it shows they are not giving up. Meanwhile, Aston Martin must find solutions quickly to close the deficit if they want to compete in the midfield. Honda's future in F1 2027 remains a big question mark: will they rise or fall further behind?
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