Is it 2015 all over again? A new power unit specification and Honda is spectacularly off the pace of their rivals. Fernando Alonso must be feeling like he is experiencing déjà vu after his ordeal with the new McLaren-Honda partnership some eleven years ago.
He famously described his Honda-powered McLaren as driving a “GP2 engine” (F2 these days) at the 2015 Japanese Grand Prix, when an underfunded Sauber breezed past him along the start-finish straight. Yet there are key differences this season to Honda’s plight compared to 2015.
No Excuses: A Level Playing Field
Firstly, at the last big regulation change in 2014, Honda was not even present. They started their journey with the 1.6L turbo-hybrid power units a year later than the rest of the manufacturers. This time around, the Japanese manufacturer has been ever-present in F1 since their return in 2015, so being behind the rest of the field due to having a steeper learning curve than their rivals is no excuse.
Another key difference is that this time, Honda has been part of the ‘Power Unit Manufacturers’ working party which defined the new era of F1 power. In fact, the reversal of their decision to leave the sport in 2021 was due to the fact that the new 50/50 power-split F1 engines were aligned with their corporate green goals.
Furthermore, this time around there was a brand-new manufacturer in Audi joining F1, having never built an F1 engine in their history. Surely Honda should have delivered a better effort than the German marque, given their 96 Grand Prix victories—plus the 38 as collaborators in the Red Bull Powertrains era from 2022 to 2025.
Missing the Mark: The Aston-Honda Teething Troubles
Yet the iconic Japanese F1 manufacturer spectacularly missed the mark with its 2026 engine. To add insult to injury, their Aston Martin, Newey-designed chassis was way off the mark, amplifying vibrations to the point where the car was undriveable.
Come the next race weekend in Zandvoort, Honda will fully debut their 2026 powertrain 2.0. However, the upgraded unit has completed 200 km already at a ‘filming day’ at the Hungaroring following the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix. Hopes are high that a number of the flaws with the RA626H have been ironed out, as the focus for improvement has been on the internal combustion engine.
General trackside manager and chief engineer Shintaro Orihara now reveals: “Our [internal combustion] engine performance is definitely poor compared to other manufacturers. So probably the most important point to improve now is our engine performance because, as I mentioned, the gap is quite huge.”
All Eyes on Zandvoort for Engine 2.0
At Silverstone and Spa, the deficit to the rest of the field for the Aston Martin cars was a massive 5 seconds. This was improved by the B-spec car introduced in Hungary, but all eyes will be on the green racing machine in the Netherlands as hopes are high for Honda’s upgraded engine.
Orihara is candid in his Motorsport.com interview: “Without improving our combustion engine performance… let’s say, if we improve energy management, that doesn’t help if the engine performance is poor. So now we purely focus on improving our engine performance. Once we achieve our target there, then maybe we can optimise some other small areas. But still our main focus point is the engine performance, the combustion engine.”
Honda’s objective is to return to the ‘racing field’—which presumably means competing with the likes of Cadillac, Williams, Audi, and Haas on a regular basis. Yet as Orihara observes: “But when we introduce the spec-2 engine, the combustion characteristics will change significantly.”
Testing the Upgrade: The Hungaroring Filming Day
This, of course, will impact the drivability of the power unit along with deployment strategies developed to date. The engine will behave differently now when cornering, and this together with the chassis upgrade will mean a ‘start again’ on finding optimum drivability.
This in part was the reason for the Aston Martin ‘filming day’, so across a two-thirds Grand Prix distance, Honda could understand the impact of their upgrades on how the car is now handling. Unlike Ferrari, who were specific in terms of their recent upgrade focusing mainly on improving the interaction of their engine with the Shell sustainable fuel, Honda is keeping everyone in the dark as to the exact nature of the engine changes they are making.
Paddock chatter has suggested Honda is hoping for a 30 bhp improvement, which compared to Ferrari’s recent ambitions of 5 bhp is enormous. The Scuderia is expected to spend the second of their Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) tokens on improving their turbo in time for Monza.
ADUO Strategy and Pre-Ignition Chamber Focus
Under the regulations, the impeller diameter must remain unchanged, and Ferrari has notably opted for a smaller turbo than other manufacturers. While they can’t increase the size of the fan, they can change the blade count, blade angles, and internal casing materials.
Honda appears to have left its turbo alone for now, given they too will have further ADUOs later in the season. They presumably have focused on improving the pre-ignition chamber, working with Aramco, their fuel partner, on knocking prevention and optimising the speed the flame transfers to the main ignition chamber.
The ICE War: Validating Adrian Newey’s Warning
As Adrian Newey predicted back in January 2025, the most important aspect of the new F1 power units will be the efficiency of the internal combustion engine. “There’s a chance that if it’s on the combustion engine side of it, that somebody comes up with a dominant combustion engine that will last through the length of the formula,” said the F1 design guru.
Red Bull has been declared as having developed the most powerful combustion engine by the FIA after its initial assessment, although the results of the sport’s governing body’s second survey are imminent after the summer break.
Yet there are high hopes within Aston Martin and Honda that some of the fundamental issues with their powertrain are now resolved.
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A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
At TJ13, Andrew plays a central role in shaping the site’s output, working across breaking news, analysis, and long-form features. Andrew’s responsibilities include fact-checking, refining editorial structure, and ensuring consistency in reporting across a fast-moving news cycle.
Andrew’s work focuses particularly on the intersection of Formula 1 politics, regulation, and team strategy. Andrew closely follows developments involving the FIA, team leadership, and driver market dynamics, helping to provide context behind the sport’s biggest stories.
With experience covering multiple seasons of Formula 1’s modern hybrid era, Andrew has developed a detailed understanding of how regulatory changes and competitive shifts influence the grid. Andrew’s editorial approach prioritises clarity and context, aiming to help readers navigate complex developments within the sport.
In addition to editorial duties, Andrew is particularly interested in how media narratives shape fan perception of Formula 1, and how reporting can balance speed with accuracy in an increasingly digital news environment.
