Aston Martin 'set for huge Honda engine boost' and these are the F1 teams they could now challenge

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Aston Martin

Aston Martin 'set for huge Honda engine boost' and these are the teams they could now challenge

How far can Honda's engine upgrade take Aston Martin?

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Tuesday 21 July 2026 20:58

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Aston Martin could be set to lose their status as the slowest F1 team on the grid in 2026 as high expectations for their upcoming Honda upgrade are revealed.

Lawrence Stroll's F1 team can finally say goodbye to their 2026 challenger as they know it after a race weekend in Spa where both drivers once again finished bottom of the order.

Having struggled to keep up with new team Cadillac across the opening rounds of the new regulations era, Aston Martin are set to welcome a new aerodynamic package in Hungary this weekend, spearheaded by design genius Adrian Newey.

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The main aim of the upgrade is to bring the AMR26 as close to the desired weight as possible, which if it works as intended, could give Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll a boost in a season which so far has only allowed the team to score a single point.

After this weekend's race at the Hungaroring, Aston Martin and Newey will be prohibited from carrying out any additional work on their car as the annual summer shutdown commences, but at the first round back in Zandvoort next month, they will finally receive an upgraded Honda engine.

So, how far can these upgrades actually take them given they have been between five and six seconds off the pace of even the Cadillacs for much of this campaign?

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Aston Martin expect to compete with the midfield after Honda upgrade

In a Belgian GP analysis video for Motorsport Italy, Franco Nugnes revealed that Aston Martin are expecting to receive a staggering 50-horsepower boost from their new and improved Honda power unit which is set to arrive in time for the Dutch GP.

"In the Netherlands, a Honda engine with at least 50 more horsepower will arrive, claimed Nugnes.

"Alonso will step out of an F2 car and into an F1 car. We’re going to see some great battles."

The Motorsport Italy chief then stated that Aston Martin even hope to be fighting among the midfield, which has been even more competitive this season.

"They hope to join the fight among Racing Bulls, Alpine, and Audi," he added.

Ahead of this weekend's race at the Hungaroring, Honda trackside general manager and chief engineer Shintaro Orihara laid out the power unit provider's expectations for the final event before the summer break, saying: "The big talking point for the Hungarian Grand Prix is that the Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 Team will introduce their chassis upgrade. We are working closely with them to support on the power unit integration aspects, making FP1 a very important session to check the functionalities.

"The Hungaroring is less sensitive for the power unit so we may be able to expect better performance despite not having our B-spec engine here. It’s also typically a warm race so we will need to check the cooling elements too at the start of the weekend."