At this stage of the Formula 1 season, Honda’s priority is not yet to extract more outright power from its power unit. Instead, the Japanese manufacturer is focusing on making the engine more predictable, consistent and easier for its drivers to manage.
Only once those foundations have been firmly established will Honda introduce the next power unit specification, expected after the summer break thanks to the flexibility allowed under the ADUO homologation system.
This is the roadmap outlined by Shintaro Orihara, Honda’s Formula 1 trackside operations chief, who explained after the British Grand Prix that the work carried out over the past few weeks is finally beginning to produce tangible results.
Honda’s development roadmap
The feedback provided by Fernando Alonso has been particularly encouraging. Positive signs had already emerged during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, but Silverstone offered further confirmation that the two-time world champion is now experiencing much greater consistency in both power delivery and electrical energy management.
Those two areas had represented some of the biggest weaknesses of Honda’s power unit during the opening phase of the 2026 Formula 1 season.
The improvement goes beyond simple drivability. A smoother and more predictable energy management system allows drivers to better anticipate how the car will behave, eliminating sudden variations in power delivery that can compromise stability through high-speed corners or reduce traction on corner exit.
Honda is fully aware that introducing a performance upgrade before solving these issues would simply magnify their negative effects. Increasing engine output also makes power delivery considerably more difficult to manage, particularly in modern Formula 1, where the electrical component plays such a significant role in overall performance.
That is why Orihara described this phase of development as “particularly important” ahead of the new specification scheduled for the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. Before adding more performance, Honda wants to build a stable technical platform that allows its drivers to exploit every available horsepower without unwanted side effects.
The clearest example remains the opening months of the season, when Alonso repeatedly highlighted inconsistent behaviour from the power unit during specific driving phases. Those difficulties became particularly evident in Monaco, where energy deployment and torque management significantly affected the drivability of the Aston Martin AMR26.
Silverstone becomes the key test for energy management
The British Grand Prix represented Honda’s toughest examination before introducing its next upgrade package. Silverstone demands exceptionally sophisticated electrical energy management due to its long sequence of ultra-fast corners.
Unlike circuits dominated by heavy braking zones, the British track constantly changes the driver’s throttle application, making both energy harvesting and deployment strategies far more complex.
For that reason, Honda devoted much of its work between the free practice sessions and the Sprint Race to refining the engine management maps.
The final outcome satisfied the Japanese engineers, who observed much more consistent behaviour from the entire power unit package throughout the weekend.
This represents an important milestone. The post-summer upgrade will not simply aim to increase maximum power output; it must also deliver more efficient energy distribution throughout an entire lap. Without that balance, much of the performance gain could be lost under race conditions.
Alongside performance, Honda continues to place enormous emphasis on another key priority: reliability.
At Silverstone, both Aston Martin cars successfully completed both the Sprint and the Grand Prix without suffering any race-ending technical problems. The only issue occurred before the start, when Fernando Alonso experienced a system fault that forced him to start from the pit lane. Once the race began, however, both cars completed the full race distance.
For Honda’s Sakura headquarters, this represents an important change in direction. Since the Miami Grand Prix, the programme had suffered a series of reliability setbacks, recording five retirements across the following four race weekends.
Restoring consistency in this area was considered every bit as important as improving outright performance. Every trouble-free kilometre completed provides valuable data for refining the power unit’s operating strategies and preparing the next technical evolution with greater confidence.
The Dutch Grand Prix is therefore expected to become a defining moment for Honda’s Formula 1 programme. The anticipated increase in power will only transform the competitiveness of the Japanese V6 if it is accompanied by the operational stability the engineers have been working so hard to achieve.
The encouraging signs seen in Austria and confirmed at Silverstone suggest Honda is moving in the right direction. Ultimately, however, it will be Zandvoort that determines whether the Japanese manufacturer has finally taken the step forward it has been targeting since the beginning of the season.
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