Honda is racing the clock — and Aston Martin is praying it makes the deadline
Honda has entered the final development phase of the new V6 for Aston Martin. The clock is ticking — and the Hungarian or Belgian GP could be the showdown.
Honda is on the home stretch with its overhauled V6 for Aston Martin. The push followed the latest FIA report on the ADUO programme — the system that decides which manufacturers are allowed to dig into their power units mid-season, and just how deep they can go.
Aston Martin is aiming to roll the AMR26B onto the track in the second half of the summer. The obvious candidates? The Hungarian or Belgian Grand Prix. One question hangs in the air. Will Honda actually finish the new engine in time?
Shintaro Orihara, Honda Racing’s chief engineer, lays out the logic without theatrics. Earlier in the season, the Japanese were running simulations and single-cylinder bench tests. Now the work has moved to a full V6. The factory is already seeing positive results — but the gains will come in increments. No miracles inside a single weekend.
Aston Martin is waiting for that upgrade like oxygen. Team principal Mike Krack is blunt: the dialogue with Honda is wide open, and both sides know full well that without progress the season slips through their fingers.
But before any upgrade lands, the team has to survive Barcelona — and that’s no gift. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has a reputation for exposing every weakness a car carries. This weekend will reveal the AMR26’s true pace, no excuses, no asterisks.