Aston Martin will receive an upgraded Honda power unit at the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, following the summer break later this season.
Honda trackside general manager and chief engineer Shintaro Orihara confirmed the timeline in the team’s Belgian Grand Prix preview, indicating two races remain before the new engine arrives.
“We have two more races before we introduce the new engine,” Orihara said. “It’s important to keep learning with this current spec, so we can take those energy deployment findings into future races – like Monza, where we also have the long straights.”
The upgrade comes under the ADUO (Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities) mechanism, which recognises Honda’s power unit as the weakest currently on the Formula 1 grid.
The rules framework is designed to allow underperforming manufacturers additional scope to close the gap to their rivals, making this development opportunity particularly significant for the team.
Aston Martin has endured a deeply difficult start to the 2026 season, competing primarily with newcomers Cadillac at the back of the field throughout the opening rounds.
Fernando Alonso’s solitary championship point came from a chaotic Monaco Grand Prix, where he sat as low as 14th with just eight laps remaining before capitalising on the attrition ahead.
Both Alonso and Lance Stroll qualified on the back row at Silverstone in back-to-back races, finishing more than one second behind the lead Cadillac and over two seconds adrift of the Q2 cut-off point.
Orihara highlighted the specific challenges Spa-Francorchamps presents for Honda’s current power unit specification, with energy management on the long straights a primary concern heading into Belgium.
“[Spa] will be a test for manufacturers in terms of energy management so we need to consider how we will deploy MGU-K power on the long straights,” Orihara added. “The harvesting here is quite limited, even considering the circuit length. This puts more emphasis on getting the deployment plan right.”
Reliability is also a key consideration at Spa, with Orihara noting the long straights place significant demands on the power unit beyond pure performance metrics.
“An added unknown is the changeable weather conditions at the circuit. At Silverstone it remained dry, so Spa could be the first time where we have proper wet conditions in a session. In terms of the weather, anything can happen here.”
Belgium and Hungary are both expected to be tough outings for the AMR26 before the Zandvoort upgrade arrives, with the car’s fundamental weaknesses remaining largely unaddressed in the short term.
Aston Martin has openly redirected a significant portion of its resources toward the 2027 car, with budget cap restrictions and aerodynamic testing limitations making a midfield recovery this season highly unlikely.