F1 Italian Grand Prix: Aston Martin power struggle looms as Honda admit the inevitable

Photo: © IMAGO

Honda

Aston Martin power struggle looms as Honda admit the inevitable for Italian Grand Prix

Low power on a power circuit is a tough combination to deal with

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson F1 Editor

Motorsport journalist covering F1 since 2024

Tuesday 1 September 2026 18:45 Updated: 19:08

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Aston Martin look set for another tough weekend at the Italian Grand Prix, with chief Honda engineer Shintaro Orihara admitting that their power unit could struggle at Monza.

The Honda power unit has been a real thorn in Aston Martin's side so far this season, but hope arrived in the form of a new spec upgrade at the Dutch Grand Prix last time out.

Fernando Alonso did go on to secure P9 in the grand prix and add two precious points to the board, but Aston Martin were plagued by driveability issues throughout the weekend in Zandvoort.

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F1 now heads to 'The Temple of Speed' a fortnight after the race in the Netherlands, and a Monza circuit notorious for its power demands.

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Honda chief issues Italian Grand Prix warning

Speaking ahead of the race, Orihara has warned that power will once again be an important factor in Italy this time around, particularly given the new regulations that came into place in 2026.

“Monza is a unique circuit with one of the highest full-throttle ratios on the 2026 calendar, with its long straights and only 11 corners," explained Orihara.

"At this track, how you distribute the limited energy across these sections becomes crucial, and this is especially amplified in qualifying. The lap times at Monza are highly sensitive to power."

Orihara continued, warning that Honda and Aston Martin need to be 'realistic' about what to expect over the weekend, admitting that Honda still lags behind their rivals when it comes to power. Unfortunately for Aston Martin, this will show up in the lap times.

"With the introduction of our spec 2 engine in Zandvoort, we have made a step forward in terms of performance," Orihara added.

"But we need to be realistic about the upcoming weekend as we know that we are still behind our competitors in terms of overall power."

Driveability key for Honda

Rather than finding power, Honda's focus is now on finding lap time through improving the driveability of their new spec power unit.

“Our key focus at the Italian Grand Prix is to improve driveability," Orihara concluded.

"Since the Dutch Grand Prix, we have been working a lot on the dyno at HRC Sakura to improve this and, specifically, to achieve stable and consistent combustion control.

“At Monza, we will be confirming the effect of that work and carrying out further tuning, which will give us more competitiveness in the coming races.”

Further upgrades for AMR26

Aston Martin will at least hope that some of the power deficit can be regained through aerodynamic upgrades.

A major overhaul to the AMR26 was introduced at the Hungarian Grand Prix ahead of the summer break, with further additions in Zandvoort last time out with more planned for Monza.

Previously, team principal Adrian Newey revealed in July that Aston Martin will 'have some more steps in Monza and Baku'. It remains to be seen just how big those steps are.

F1 Aston Martin Honda