As F1 gears up for the 2026 British GP weekend, Shintaro Orihara has shed more light on how Honda are striving to improve the AMR26’s engine, when the new upgrade package is arriving, how much horsepower gain they are anticipating, the dyno programmes they are running, and whether they are expecting Aston Martin to be competitive right away.
Since the very beginning of the 2026 F1 campaign, the Silverstone-based outfit and their new power unit supplier Honda have been battling chronic reliability and drivability issues that have resulted in nine retirements between both drivers so far. They currently sit tenth in the Constructors’ standings.
Honda are attempting to bring Aston Martin’s engine upgrade at the 2026 Dutch GP
Speaking in a print media session ahead of the F1 British GP, Shintaro Orihara opened up about whether Honda have made the final decision on the timeline for the first major upgrade pertaining to the Aston Martin’s 2026 engine.
Quipping that he was anticipating the question, the Japanese engineer referred to how they had previously mentioned the F1 summer break as a deadline. Henceforth, he clarified that their actual target is the Dutch GP in August and that Honda are sparing no effort to bring forth the upgraded power unit for Aston Martin in Zandvoort.
“Yeah, I was waiting for that question. Yeah, I kept saying summer but that may be a boring answer.
“So, I would say our target is the Netherlands. We are working hard to complete our job list to achieve bringing new power into the Netherlands. That is our target.”
What Honda are currently working on to improve engine performance
In terms of whether the installation process would require certain modifications to the AMR26’s chassis or whether the changes are internal, Shintaro Orihara responded that Honda are focusing entirely on the internal components. Furthermore, he explained that they are attempting to enhance the overall power unit performance by improving the combustion system and reducing additional friction.
At the same time, Orihara stated that Honda, while targeting more performance, need to simultaneously ensure the engine’s reliability has improved before they implement the new specification for Aston Martin at the 2026 Dutch GP.
“Yeah, purely we focus on internal, how to say.
“Let’s say our focus point is to improve engine performance. So, we are working on combustion chamber shape and also, we modified the chamber. And also, we will change combustion chamber shape to improve our combustion performance. Also, we are working to reduce friction by modifying lubrication system. That is we are working [on] now.
“And also, of course to improve reliability because if we increase performance we need to increase reliability.
“So, still we have a quite big list to complete but we are working hard to complete our to-do list and bring the new engine to the Netherlands.”
Asked how many jokers Honda are planning to use for the forthcoming upgrade package, Orihara refused to divulge the details but confirmed that it would involve multiple modified components.
“How to say? I can’t explain in detail how many, but we have a big list.
“So, we will bring many update into the Netherlands. I can’t say how many but quite big part we will modify.”
How Honda seek to enhance the new power unit’s drivability
With regard to whether Honda’s goal at present is to solve the downshifting issue before Aston Martin’s upgraded engine is ready to hit the track, Shintaro Orihara commented that the new power unit primarily focuses on performance.
Revealing that they are trying to improve the current engine’s drivability right now, Honda’s trackside general manager and chief engineer added that they would have to further optimise their prevailing data set, given the modifications to the combustion elements, to render the new power unit more drivable and the setting optimal.
“That is a different topic. So, the new power unit is purely for us to improve performance, but we changed the, let’s say, combustion characteristics. We need to optimise our data set again to optimise drivability.
“So, now we are focused to improve drivability in this power unit. And that methodology will be carried over to the new power unit to optimise setting.”
How much HP the engine upgrade is bringing and whether Aston Martin would be competitive immediately
With respect to how much additional horsepower Aston Martin will gain from the engine upgrade, Shintaro Orihara, although hesitant to disclose the precise number, commented that they are optimistic about taking a considerably big step forward.
However, the Japanese engineer also urged the F1 community to temper their expectations and remarked that they won’t go toe-to-toe with Mercedes HPP or Red Bull Powertrains with a single upgrade.
“I know the number from dyno, but I can’t describe the number.
“We are aiming to get some reasonable big steps rather than bringing small steps. But I would say there is no magic in Formula 1.
“So, I don’t think we are going to catch up, let’s say Mercedes or RBPT by one step. But we are going to bring some reasonable big steps.”
In terms of whether Aston Martin would be able to showcase substantial performance gains right away in Zandvoort or whether the Silverstone-based squad would need more time to get on top of their first major engine upgrade, Orihara claimed that it’s a gradual process and that Honda would have to take another step forward to contend with the top teams.
“So again, the performance development is step by step. So, Netherlands is the first step to bring some reasonable steps. But we need another further step for future to catch up the top competitors.”
The kind of dyno testing Honda are doing
Asked how much dyno testing they have done so far to improve the performance of the AMR26’s engine, Shintaro Orihara proclaimed that Honda have put the additional working hours to good use, thanks to the ADUO allowances Aston Martin have received for the 2026 F1 season.
Disclosing that they are currently engaged in mono-cylinder testing, Honda’s trackside boss shared further details of more tests they are performing. Furthermore, he stated that they have yet to run the programme in transient conditions that simulate the rapidly changing circumstances of actual race laps.
“Quite some. After we got the ADUO, we have additional dyno working hour.
“So, we are now doing the first stage with mono-cylinder testing. And then now we are checking our performance from 2026 dyno. Also, we are carrying over gravity testing on dyno.
“Also, at the same time we need to check our power behaviour in transient conditions. So, let’s say, we also need to do transient dyno testing. So that type of activity we are now doing.”
