Honda has confirmed ahead of the Formula 1 British Grand Prix that it has set a target to increase power and achieve a turnaround in performance.
Honda’s struggles in 2026 are well documented, its power unit suffering from poor reliability and a power deficit.
This has led to Aston Martin being left behind in recent races, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll stuck on the back row for the last two races.
But Honda is working hard behind the scenes in Sakura to rectify the situation, with a major upgrade being planned to close the gap to their rivals.
On media day in Silverstone, Honda’s trackside general manager and chief engineer, Shintaro Orihara revealed when the Japanese manufacturer plans to debut the improvements.
“Our target is Netherlands,” Orihara confirmed to media, including Motorsport Week.
“We are working hard to complete our job list to achieve bringing the new power to the Netherlands, that is our target.”
Asked if Honda’s engine changes are all internal, Orihara confirmed: “Yes, purely we focused on internal.
“Our focus point is to improve engine performance, so we are working on the combustion chamber shape, and also we modified the chamber. We will change the combustion chamber shape to improve combustion performance.
“Also, we are working to reduce friction by modifying the lubrication system.
“And also, of course, to improve reliability, because if we increase performance, we need to increase reliability.
We will bring many updates to the Netherlands. Quite a big part we will modify.”
Honda also target “driveability” for upgrade
Driveability has been a constant complaint of Aston Martin’s drivers, a trait that Orihara believes will be significantly improved with the Netherlands upgrade, as Honda was “working focus to improve driveability in this power unit.”
Honda’s deficit to its rivals is rumoured to be in excess of 100bhp, with Orihara confirming an expected improvement in power delivery, but did not give an indication of numbers.
“I know the number from the dyno, but I can’t describe,” he said. “We are aiming to get a reasonably big step, rather than bring a small step.”
“After we got back the ADUO, we have additional dyno working hours.
“The first stage we did mono cylinder testing. Now we are checking our performance on the V6 dyno, also carrying over durability testing on the dyno.
“At the same time, we need to check our power behaviour in transient condition. So, let’s say, we also need to do transient time testing. For that type of activity, we are now doing exactly.”
“But what I would say is there is no magic in Formula 1, so I don’t think we’re going to catch up with, let’s say, Mercedes or RBPT [Red Bull Powertrains] by one step.”
Honda can now see a light at the end of the metaphorical tunnel with its planned Netherlands overhaul. All eyes will be on the manufacturer to see if their hard work pays off.
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