Racing
© Jonathan Borba
Honda cannot finalize its 2026 Formula 1 power-unit recovery plan until the FIA formally publishes the first ADUO assessment, leaving Aston Martin’s supplier stuck in a holding pattern even as paddock reports place it among the biggest losers in the new engine ranking.
Shintaro Orihara, Honda Racing’s chief engineer, said the company is still waiting for the governing body to confirm what development path it can officially take under the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities system. “At the moment, we are waiting for the FIA’s decision,” Orihara said. “Once we receive that result, it will become clear what we need to improve, and we will also get the list of items we have to carry out. But right now, we are in a state of waiting for that decision.”
Under the 2026 ADUO rules, manufacturers judged to be at least 2% behind the leading internal combustion engine are granted extra development opportunities. Multiple reports said the FIA’s first assessment, based on the opening races through Canada and communicated to teams around the Monaco Grand Prix, identified Red Bull-Ford as the benchmark. Those same reports placed Honda roughly 6% to 8% behind.
Honda already has a sense of where it is lacking, but Orihara made clear that knowing it is down on performance is not the same as having approval to lock in the exact fix. Even after the FIA’s verdict arrives, he said, a revised power unit will not appear quickly.
“The process of introducing a new engine requires long-term development,” Orihara said. “First, we need to carry out analysis using CFD, and single-cylinder engine testing is also necessary.” He said the next phase requires full V6 performance evaluation and reliability work, adding that it “takes several weeks” and is “not development work that can be completed in a short period.”
That means Honda’s response is already underway in broad terms, but still not at the point where a final specification can be committed. Orihara said early-stage development has started and identified the main area for improvement on the internal combustion side as combustion itself. “There are areas where we can improve the current technology. But what we mainly have to improve is combustion,” he said.
Orihara also played down any idea of a quick breakthrough. “There is no magic solution. We continue to improve combustion performance,” he said. “There are no miracles. We are continuing to work hard. Improving performance means steadily stacking many small improvements, one step at a time.”
That timeline matters for Aston Martin as much as Honda. Aston Martin has struggled for top speed and acceleration since the start of the 2026 season with Honda power, and Orihara suggested meaningful relief is still some way off. Asked when an upgraded engine might realistically reach the track, he said: “Probably in the summer. But I don’t know which summer. I can’t say whether it will be the British summer or the Japanese summer.”
For Honda and Aston Martin, that leaves the first half of 2026 looking less like a quick correction and more like a wait for an FIA ruling, then a longer wait for the combustion gains Honda believes it needs to close the gap.