Fernando Alonso: New Honda engine for Aston Martin – but with a delay

For months, there had been speculation about when Honda would bring an upgraded engine to the track; now we know: during the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, in the sprint format from 21 August at Zandvoort.

This is because Shintaro Orihara, the chief engineer of the Japanese team’s Formula 1 engine programme, let slip the news. In a statement ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, he said: “We have two more races to go before we introduce the optimised engine.” That means Belgium and Hungary, after which Formula 1 takes its summer break.

Shitaro Orihara von Honda

Foto: XPB

Orihara continued: “We still need to learn more about handling this power unit so that we can put our lessons on energy management into practice as effectively as possible, especially on tricky circuits like Monza, where it is very difficult to charge the battery sufficiently.”

The Honda engine is considered the weakest in the 2026 Formula 1 field. Consequently, the Asian team has been granted permission to make further improvements to the power unit under the so-called ADUO scheme.

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ADUO stands for ‘Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities’. These are designed to ensure that engine manufacturers who are lagging behind are given a chance to reduce the gap during the season. Manufacturers are granted ADUO if they are at least 2 per cent behind in terms of internal combustion engine performance.

Nikolas Tombazis, Director of Single-Seaters at the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile): “It is important to clarify that ADUO is not a performance-leveling mechanism. A team or manufacturer does not suddenly receive a higher fuel flow rate or more or less ballast. Rather, it is a mechanism to relieve pressure on the cost cap, whereby a PU manufacturer that meets the ADUO criteria during a review period is given the opportunity to further develop its engine through a downward adjustment.”