Honda has confirmed that its long-awaited ADUO-upgraded Formula 1 power unit will make its debut at the Dutch Grand Prix. Aston Martin will receive a substantially revised engine featuring a redesigned combustion chamber, updates to the pre-chamber and lubrication system, with the Japanese manufacturer confident that the package will deliver a significant step forward in performance.
A major aerodynamic and chassis upgrade in Hungary will be followed by a completely revised power unit in the Netherlands. This is Aston Martin’s roadmap as it attempts to turn its season around and close the gap to the midfield teams. Ahead of the British Grand Prix weekend, Honda officially confirmed that its highly anticipated engine upgrade will arrive at Zandvoort.
The Japanese manufacturer had originally targeted the introduction of its ADUO-developed power unit around the summer break. There had been hopes that the new engine could be ready before the shutdown, perhaps even in Belgium, one of the most demanding events on the Formula 1 calendar. However, additional development time proved necessary, with the upgraded power unit now scheduled to debut immediately after the summer break in the Netherlands.
Several weeks ago, Aston Martin Trackside Operations Director Mike Krack had already made it clear that the team’s chassis and aerodynamic developments were completely independent from Honda’s power unit programme, effectively confirming that the two upgrade packages would arrive at different stages of the season. Honda has now reinforced that message, revealing that it has invested all of this year’s ADUO development allocation into one substantial engine upgrade.
“I’ve kept saying ‘summer,’ but perhaps that’s too generic an answer. I’d rather say that our target is the Netherlands. We’re working very hard to complete everything on our development list and bring more power to Zandvoort. That’s our objective,” explained Shintaro Orihara, who oversees Honda’s Formula 1 trackside operations.
Beyond confirming the timing of the upgrade, Orihara also revealed the technical areas that have received the greatest attention. Importantly, Aston Martin will not need to modify its chassis to accommodate the revised power unit, as Honda’s work has focused almost entirely on improving the combustion process within the internal combustion engine, currently considered one of its weakest areas.
“We’ve concentrated on the internal development work. Our main focus is improving engine performance. We’re redesigning the shape of the combustion chamber, modifying the pre-chamber, and once again changing the combustion chamber geometry to improve the efficiency of the combustion process,” Orihara explained.
“We’re also working to reduce internal friction by modifying the lubrication system. All of these development activities are still ongoing. Naturally, we’re also aiming to improve reliability because whenever you increase performance, reliability has to improve as well. There’s still a long list of work to complete, but we’re pushing hard to have everything ready for the Netherlands.”
Changing the combustion characteristics also means Honda must ensure that the new power unit delivers improved drivability. This has become especially important given the issues Aston Martin has experienced with its in-house gearbox, particularly during downshifts, where the interaction between engine braking, the transmission and the MGU-K during energy recovery is still not fully optimised.
“The new power unit has been developed with the sole objective of improving performance, but we’ve changed the combustion characteristics. That means we have to optimise all of our parameters again to refine the drivability. Right now, we’re focused on improving the drivability of this unit, and the approach we’re developing will also be applied to the new power unit to achieve the best possible setup.”
For the time being, Honda has declined to reveal exactly how much additional horsepower the upgrade is expected to deliver. However, the Japanese manufacturer believes it will represent a significant step forward compared to the current package. Under the ADUO system, Honda is believed to fall into the category of manufacturers exceeding an 8% performance deficit, with a new development band introduced earlier this year specifically for those facing a gap of more than 10%—a category widely understood to have been created with Honda in mind.
That level of assistance is considered essential if Honda is to close the gap, as the manufacturer currently trails its rivals in both outright power and reliability. Every upgrade introduced is therefore expected to contribute to a meaningful improvement, allowing Aston Martin to move closer to the midfield battle and, hopefully, return to fighting for championship points.
“I know the figure from the dyno, but I can’t disclose it. Our objective is to deliver a genuinely significant step forward, not just small incremental gains. At the same time, there are no miracles in Formula 1. I don’t believe a single upgrade will completely erase the gap to manufacturers like Mercedes or Red Bull. Even so, we’re aiming to introduce a major performance improvement.”
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