Honda has revealed that its latest Formula 1 power unit upgrade introduced at the Dutch GP delivered its expected performance gains but created unexpected drivability quirks.
Aston Martin introduced a fresh PU specification at Zandvoort, helping Fernando Alonso back into the points-paying positions, amid a challenging 2026 campaign for the British outfit. While telemetry and dyno correlation confirmed a promising increase in raw performance, the updated engine dynamics brought new management challenges inside the cockpit.
Speaking to media, including Motorsport Week, ahead of the Italian GP, HRC representative Shintaro Orihara explained that while the performance jump matched expectations, the altered engine characteristics required immediate intervention.
“We introduced a new spec to the engine in the Netherlands. We have observed a step forward in terms of performance on our Metro-X. As expected, we have confirmed on dyno, so that was a positive thing we found,” he said.
“But on the other hand, we found something which can improve on drivability. So, we have prepared or we have updated conversion characteristics.”
Combustion shift triggers Sakura response
Honda had previously encountered drivability hurdles at the opening round of the season, prompting the development of dedicated control tools to smooth power delivery. However, the step-change in combustion with the latest spec caught engineers by surprise, rendering existing adaptations insufficient.
“Combustion difference is much bigger than we expected,” Orihara-san noted. “Then we need to adjust our new tool of control to control more nicely for new combustion.”
To rectify the issue before hitting the track at the high-speed Autodromo Nazionale Monza, HRC worked off driver feedback and Zandvoort data logs from the Sakura headquarters.
“And then we prepared the data setting and new tool to adapt the new conversion to get more good drivability,” he added. “But it was not enough to satisfy drivability. So definitely that is our improvement point that we found in the Netherlands.
“Here at Monza, it’s quite a big demand for power inside,” Orihara-san acknowledged. “And even if we introduce specs to the engine and we found some performance gain, still we should be realistic in this track. So, it’s going to be challenging for power inside in this track.”
“And we bring back all data to dyno and bring back all driver feedback to dyno. And in HRC Sakura, they have carried out some testing to improve our control, to get more good drivability. So our main focus point is to confirm the countermeasure in Monza.”
Grounded expectations for the ‘Temple of Speed’
Despite the clear step forward in power, Honda remains realistic about Aston Martin’s prospects at Monza, a circuit renowned for placing maximum strain on straight-line speed and pure deployment.
Crucially, Honda has resisted the temptation to sacrifice reliability or push components beyond safe thresholds in search of raw lap time.
“We always need to find a good balance point between the reliability and the performance side,” he concluded. “According to our reliability testing, at this moment we are happy for our reliability, and also performance-wise we don’t need to take any risk to maximise performance.”
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