Honda reveal new Aston Martin F1 engine secrets: 'We've achieved our targets'

Aston Martin

Honda reveal new Aston Martin F1 engine secrets: 'We've achieved our targets'

Are Aston and Honda back??

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Monday 10 August 2026 12:27 Updated: 18:52

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Good news for Aston Martin, bad news for the rest of F1: Honda seem to be very happy with the engine they're providing for Zandvoort and beyond.

Honda's trackside general manager and chief engineer Shintaro Orihara sat down to discuss his thoughts on what his team has been able to achieve heading into the summer break, in a video released by Honda over the weekend.

Orihara shied away from giving too many specifics in terms of what's been tweaked in the power unit – 'it's kind of a secret' – but admitted that there was a lengthy list of areas for improvement.

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Aston Martin are reportedly hoping for about an improvement of around half a second a lap from the new power unit which, combined with the two-ish seconds their huge aerodynamic upgrades saved them in Hungary, should place Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll right back in the midfield pack.

Honda chief: We had a long list of improvements

"We focused to improve engine performance, let's say, to make combustion faster, so it's kind of a secret, but I can disclose a little bit.

"So we changed the pre chamber to make combustion faster, and also we change the piston shape also to get good combustion. Also, we modified some lubrication system to reduce friction. So we had a quite big list to improve engine performance."

Orihara also refused to comment on exactly how much horsepower Honda believe has been added to the engine with the upgrades, but did confirm that at the very least, they reached their internal target for power.

Honda's update is good news for Newey and Stroll.

"I can't disclose the detailed number," he said, "but we have achieved our internal target, and I'm confident what HRC Sakura factory guys achieved for the spec 2 engine, and we are excited to bring new spec engine to the Netherlands, and we will see where we are."