Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) president Koji Watanabe has dropped a bombshell in the paddock, revealing that Honda actually introduced its second ADUO (Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities) upgrade as early as the Spanish Grand Prix, long before many realized. The upgrade focused on the power unit's turbocharger. This disclosure adds a new layer to the story of Aston Martin and Honda's struggles in their debut season together.
From the start of the season, Aston Martin and Honda indeed struggled to compete in the midfield. However, their performance gradually improved after a major chassis upgrade package was introduced at the Hungaroring. At Zandvoort, the team also fitted a power unit with the first ADUO upgrade. But who would have thought that the second upgrade was already secretly installed in Lance Stroll's car at the Spanish GP.
“We used both of them,” Watanabe told Autosport when asked why Honda decided to use both ADUO opportunities. “We introduced the first ADUO upgrade in the Netherlands, and then we put a PU incorporating the second update into Lance Stroll's car at the Spanish Grand Prix. The Spec 2 PU we introduced in the Netherlands had some drivability issues, so we introduced an improved turbo at the Spanish Grand Prix.”
FIA data shows that Stroll's car used its fifth turbocharger of the season at the Spanish GP, while Fernando Alonso's car also received its fifth turbo at the Azerbaijan GP. This confirms that the upgrade was used, albeit not widely announced.
When asked whether the objective was to address turbo lag, Watanabe replied simply, “Yes.” He then explained the reasoning behind the staggered introduction. “It would have been better if we could have introduced everything at once, but it was important to introduce Spec 2 in the Netherlands first. We were also working on measures to address the turbo lag in parallel, so we introduced that in Spain. So the application ended up being split between the two.”
Nevertheless, Watanabe admitted that Honda is still not fully extracting the potential of its power unit. When Honda was previously supplying Red Bull, it was not allowed to introduce performance upgrades, but it continued to use simulations to determine the operating limits of the PU and gradually raise those limits year after year. This was what Honda referred to as “reliability development”.
For example, in 2024 Red Bull adopted extremely small sidepods and reduced the size of the cooling openings. This was made possible by raising the PU's operating limits. Now, with Aston Martin, Honda has more freedom to make performance upgrades through the ADUO route. However, challenges remain, especially in integrating upgrades into a competitive chassis.
Looking ahead, Honda and Aston Martin hope to maximize their power unit's potential. With both ADUO upgrades used, they are now focused on further development to improve competitiveness for the rest of the season. Will this hidden move pay off? Only time will tell, but one thing is certain: Honda is not sitting still.
Baca Juga
Jadwal F1 Bahrain 2026 di Malaysia lengkap dengan waktu latihan, kualifikasi dan balapan utama di Sirkuit Sepang pada 2-4 Oktober 2026.
Honda ternyata sudah memakai dua upgrade ADUO, dengan turbo baru diperkenalkan di GP Spanyol. Simak strategi dan dampaknya bagi Aston Martin.
Honda mengungkap upgrade turbo tersembunyi di GP Spanyol, menggunakan kedua token ADUO. Simak analisis lengkap dan dampaknya bagi Aston Martin di F1.
Lanjutkan dengan Google
Diskusi & Komentar (0)
Mari Bergabung dalam Diskusi!
Masuk dengan mudah untuk mulai memberikan komentar, membalas, dan berinteraksi dengan pembaca lainnya.
Komentar Terbaru
Belum ada komentar. Jadilah yang pertama!