Honda ha confermato che il nuovo motore F1 aggiornato verrà montato per la prima volta sull'Aston Martin AMR26 durante il filming day in Ungheria, in programma mercoledì prima della pausa estiva. Lo ha annunciato Shintaro Orihara, general manager e capo ingegnere Honda, al termine del Gran Premio d'Ungheria.
La nuova specifica della power unit debutterà quindi in Olanda, al Gran Premio di Zandvoort, dopo la pausa estiva. Il filming day consentirà alla squadra di raccogliere dati vitali e di verificare il comportamento del nuovo motore sul telaio, con un massimo di 200km di percorrenza consentiti.
L'Aston Martin ha vissuto una stagione 2026 difficile ma ha mostrato progressi a Budapest con la versione B della vettura. Orihara ha ammesso la pressione per recuperare il terreno perso: "Introdurre la nuova power unit a Zandvoort è importante ora che il telaio funziona bene. Il nostro motore dovrebbe portare un guadagno di tempo sul giro."
Prima della pausa, la scuderia britannica occupa il decimo posto nella classifica costruttori, a un solo punto dai Cadillac. L'upgrade rappresenta il tentativo più importante di Honda per colmare il divario dopo un avvio di stagione complicato.
Fonti
- [Crash.net — Honda reveals when new F1 engine will run before race debut](https://www.crash.net/f1/news/1101941/1/honda-reveals-when-new-f1-engine-will-run-race-debut)
Honda to debut upgraded F1 engine at Hungarian filming day before Dutch GP
Honda will introduce its upgraded Formula 1 power unit during a filming day at the Hungaroring next Wednesday, ahead of the engine's race debut at the Dutch Grand Prix. The announcement was made by Shintaro Orihara, Honda's trackside general manager and chief engineer, following the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The new-spec power unit will be installed in the Aston Martin AMR26 for the first time during the filming day, which allows teams to carry out up to 200km of running. Orihara described the session as a "good opportunity to check how our new engine runs on the chassis" before the summer shutdown commences. The data gathered will be vital for Honda's engineers as they finalize the specification that will race in Zandvoort after the break.
Aston Martin has struggled for competitiveness throughout the 2026 season but showed improved pace in Budapest with its B-spec car. Honda, under pressure to deliver after the team's chassis gains, views the introduction of the upgraded power unit at Zandvoort as a crucial step. "To introduce the new power unit in Zandvoort is quite important now the chassis is working well," Orihara said. "So our power unit should bring some laptime gain."
The team heads into the summer break 10th in the constructors' championship, just one point clear of Cadillac. The upgrade represents Honda's most significant attempt to close the gap to rivals after a difficult first half of the season. Both drivers will be eager to extract maximum performance from the updated power package soon.
Sources
- [Crash.net — Honda reveals when new F1 engine will run before race debut](https://www.crash.net/f1/news/1101941/1/honda-reveals-when-new-f1-engine-will-run-race-debut)
