Honda Trackside General Manager and Chief Engineer, Shintaro Orihara, looks ahead to the upcoming 2026 F1 Dutch GP, where the Japanese manufacturer will provide the Aston Martin F1 Team with a new Power Unit specification to improve performance and reliability, thereby aiding the team’s progress.
Aston Martin experienced a rough start to the 2026 F1 season and the new regulatory cycle, struggling to complete a full race distance in the opening stages. Small steps have since been made, but Aston Martin and power unit supplier Honda continued to battle with reliability and drivability issues, as well as a sizeable gap to the competition throughout the first half of the season.
Ahead of this year’s British GP, Shintaro Orihara had already indicated that Honda targeted the introduction of a new Power Unit for Aston Martin at the 2026 F1 Dutch GP, with which the Japanese manufacturer aims not only to address the performance gap but also to improve reliability. After months of “hard work” on the specification, the introduction at this week’s Dutch GP will mark a significant “milestone” for the Aston Martin Team and engine partner Honda, says Orihara.
“The Dutch GP is an important milestone for Honda as this is where we introduce our new spec power unit. This is the result of an intense period of hard work at HRC Sakura together with HRC UK and the Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team.”
The new Power Unit will pose a “challenge” for Honda and Aston Martin at the 2026 F1 Dutch GP
Before the summer break, the Silverstone-based outfit introduced its first major chassis upgrade at the 2026 F1 Hungarian GP, where Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso finished the race in P13 & P14, respectively. With the introduction of the new PU at the 2026 F1 Dutch GP, Honda, together with Aston Martin, is looking to build on the improvement made in Hungary. Since the Dutch GP will see the return of the sprint format, Honda and Aston Martin will have only FP1 to test their “new package,” which will pose a “challenge” for the team and its engine partner, according to Orihara.
“Zandvoort is a Sprint weekend, which means we only have a single free practice session. This will bring an additional challenge to complete the evaluation of our new package in that limited running, but it’s a test we’re looking forward to.
“In Hungary, we saw a step forward with the new chassis. With the new specification power unit now introduced, we look forward to building on that progress together with the team over the remainder of the season.”
