Honda has played down reports of a big power gain from its sole engine upgrade of the season after completing a private test with Aston Martin at the Hungaroring.
The title-winning Japanese manufacturer has struggled badly with the new regulations, debuting an engine that is both underpowered and unreliable.
Honda’s internal combustion engine was assessed by the FIA to be more than 4 per cent down on power relative to the benchmark Red Bull Racing motor. Paddock speculation suggests it could have been as much as 8 per cent down on power.
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The petrol engine nominally contributes around 450 kilowatts, meaning the Honda motor is around 36 kilowatts down on the Red Bull Powertrains benchmark.
Though Aston Martin’s troubled car was gradually revealed to be responsible for at least half the team’s overall performance deficit, a significant upgrade in Hungary moved the car from a distant last into the lower reaches of the midfield, with two more step due after the mid-season break.
The improvement has turned the spotlight back on Honda, which confirmed before the break that it would use only one of its two concessional upgrade opportunities this year before it focuses on a larger overhaul for 2027.
That sole upgrade was brought to post-Hungary test as a sort of shakedown before its introduction at the Dutch Grand Prix later this month.
In-season tests aren’t typically timed, with no data publicly available, but speculation suggested Honda had demonstrated a significant gain. Some rumours even suggested it had found almost all of its approximate 36-kilowatt deficit.
But though he wouldn’t be drawn on any specific numbers, Honda trackside general manager and chief engineer Shintaro Orihara played down those reports.
“I want to have that number, but that is a quite big number,” he said, per Planet F1.
“I can’t describe the detail of power, but my feeling with that is just: no.
“I don’t think [so] — not the real number.”
Autosport has reported the number could be closer 22 kilowatts.
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Orihara said that the Hungary test would allow both Honda and Aston Martin to hit the ground running in Zandvoort, where the sprint format means they’ll have only one hour of free practice.
“Definitely we can learn something before we introduce new power unit,” he said. “That is a positive point for us.
“The main target is to gather as much as possible the data from [Hungary] before we introduce the new power unit.”
But even a smaller gain could see the Honda engine pitched into the mix with several rivals, with both Audi and Ferrari having also been deemed to be more than 4 per cent down on power — though both have since introduced upgrades.
Audi and Haas (Ferrari) are both in the midfield mix that Aston Martin could be competing in during the second half of the season.
Mercedes — despite itself believing it has the best overall power unit — was deemed to be between 2 and 4 per cent down on the benchmark. Alpine, further ahead in the midfield, is powered by Mercedes. Aston Martin appears to have already jumped Mercedes customer Williams.
A small gain would also translate into a significant performance boost given the way the hybrid power unit works.
The more powerful the petrol engine, the more effective the hybrid components because the electronics will be required to do less of the heavy lifting, with less ‘filling in’ of the power curve.
Further, the faster a car is propelled by the petrol motor, the more energy can be recovered by the hybrid engine.
More petrol power would also leave the car slightly less down on power overall when the car ‘super clips’ — that is, effectively turns the combustion motor into a generator.
The FIA concession mechanism doesn’t account for differences in hybrid performance, as was the preference of the engine manufacturers when the rules were being written.
This means Honda’s power unit was realistically more severely down on power than the estimated 36-kilowatt difference, but it also means it stands to gain more for every kilowatt it squeezes from its combustion engine.
Further, though upgrade concessions are doled out based on combustion power, manufacturers can update practically their entire power unit, including the hybrid components, with each upgrade.
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BRUNDLE: CARLOS SAINZ DOWN A CAREER ‘CUL-DE-SAC’
Carlos Sainz’s career is “stalling” at Williams, according to F1 pundit Martin Brundle, as the Spaniard considers his options for 2027.
Sainz found himself without frontrunning option when he was pushed out of his plum Ferrari seat by Lewis Hamilton at the end of 2024. Faced with a choice between Alpine, Audi and Williams, he chose the latter based on a pitch by team boss James Vowles that the historic but long-struggling team already had the building blocks in place to rise through the field in 2026.
The team overperformed last year, moving from ninth to a comfortable fifth at the head of the midfield, and Sainz picked up a pair of unlikely podiums, in Azerbaijan and Qatar, to appear to validate the promise.
But Williams has precipitously slid down the order this year after development problems during the off-season led to the car arriving late, overweight and slow, and it has slipped gradually backwards through the year.
Though a big upgrade is due in Azerbaijan later this season, the team also appears resigned to having been jumped by Aston Martin, which could leave it 10th in the pecking order and the championship ahead of only Cadillac.
Both Sainz and Alex Albon are out of contract this year, but the driver market has seized as it waits for Max Verstappen to quit or commit to Red Bull Racing next season, leaving both drivers in limbo.
Even then, however, there would appear to be few options for the 31-year-old, with Audi looking likely to keep its line-up unchanged, Alpine appearing to favour Franco Colaptino and Aston Martin working hard to re-sign Fernando Alonso.
“I would imagine Carlos is keeping his options open,” Brundle told Sky Sports. “It is frustrating. He’s stalling out at a time in his career and life that is not optimal, to say the least.”
“He’s had some brilliant races in a Ferrari. I think he’s ended up down a cul-de-sac here. So hopefully Williams has an answer for 2027.”
Brundle suggested Williams had some fundamental problems to overcome before it could restore Sainz’s faith in the project.
“What’s quite clear — I think McLaren found this and other teams found this — [is] maybe what you were learning with the previous four seasons of ground effects cars, things you thought you knew about how to be fast in a Formula 1 car are not working on these cars.
“All in all, they can only be disappointed. When you look at their results in qualifying and in the race, there’s a lot of double digits. They’re always in the teens, and I think that sums up their season so far.”
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PÉREZ ADMITS TO PRE-SEASON DOUBTS OVER F1 COMEBACK
Sergio Pérez has admitted he had doubts over whether he could still cut it in Formula 1 before committing to a comeback with Cadillac this season.
Pérez, a six-time grand prix winner, was sacked by Red Bull Racing at the end of 2024 after a difficult campaign that saw the team slip to third in the constructors championship just one year after setting records for domination.
His ousting came after the end of the season, leaving him without a seat, and Pérez left his future ambiguous after 281 grand prix starts.
That experience proved crucial to his comeback, with Cadillac seeking veterans for its inaugural line-up to help boost its preparedness to enter F1 this season.
But Pérez admitted to Racer that the messy end to his Red Bull Racing career left him uncertain whether he was ready or able to return.
“I had some doubts about coming back, but I’m really happy I came back, because I managed to prove to myself that I’m still one of the best,” he said.
“I was just a little bit burnt with the sport, how unfair the sport can be at times, and I felt like probably it was time to move on.
“But I decided to come back, I found a great challenge and I’m happy I did.”
Pérez has led the way for Cadillac this season, particularly early in the campaign, when he appeared to hold a decisive advantage over teammate Valtteri Bottas, though the gap has shrunk in recent races.
His performances have been good enough for reported interest from other teams despite the Mexican holding a contract through to the end of next season.
“I think I’ve been performing at a very high level,” he said.
“I think people that understand the sport, it’s easy for them to understand what level of performance I’m getting out of my car. In Formula 1, that’s the most important, and I’m pleased with the level that I’m driving at at the moment.
“That [interest] has been nice to see. I think always when you’re performing, your value goes up.
“Obviously, there could be some movements around and stuff, but for me, the main thing is to see what’s going to happen here in the next coming months. I want to see this challenge moving forward.”
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