Honda targeting Formula 1 power unit upgrades for Dutch Grand Prix

After a painful few months since the start of the 2026 F1 season, Aston Martin's first with Honda as work partners, it seems things are starting to move forward for the Silverstone squad.

Adrian Newey, their Team Principal and tech boss, revealed recently that a heavily upgraded Aston Martin AMR26 and what can effectively be considered as a B-Spec car, will arrive in time for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Aston Martin and Honda have jointly agreed to work on getting one massive upgrade instead of incremental improvements after they realized how badly conceived the AMR26 was—overweight, underpowered, vibrating, and woefully slow.

And while Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll will be hoping the new AMR26 chassis will not try to kill them, they can also expect to have more power with the latest Honda upgrade.

With the first Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) evaluation deeming Honda as the power unit manufacturer with the worst Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) while Red Bull Ford is the best, the Japanese manufacturer will get two upgrade opportunities.

Speaking to reporters in Silverstone on Thursday, Orihara revealed Honda's upgrade plan; he said: "We are working ‌hard ⁠to complete our job list to achieve bringing the new power unit to [the] Netherlands. That is our target.

However, he swiftly moved to downplay the improvement the upgrades will provide, claiming the gap to the leaders will not be covered with one upgrade.

Orihara said: "I don't think we're going to ​catch up with Mercedes or ​RBPT (Red ⁠Bull Powertrains) in one step.

"We need another step for the future to ⁠catch ​up the top competition," the Honda F1 boss concluded. (Reporting by Agnes Carlier)