2026 Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team

[Leon Kennedy]

Kakuda explaining how this PU is nothing like the previous. Like Kakuda, there are still many of the key people in the F1 program from the previous era that were recruited or assigned back. I do wish we had Tanabe.
https://global.honda/en/F1/features/202 ... ry/kakuda/

Wasn't Asaki the lead during Honda's recovery?

Based on what the BBC quoted Newey as saying to the commission, It looks like it's not related to the ICE. It purely electrical. Since the MGU-K can deploy energy, recovery should just be software.

Who knows, I'm so disenchanted with Honda at this point. As an Alonso fan, I painfully lived through the first debacle.
I stanchly defended them failure after failure. I was soooooooooooooooooooo wrong. I'll also say I was pissed when AM signed with them.

Well, in all official statements they have always declared that they have achieved the objectives set with the electric engine, while with the ICE they have been having difficulties for months, already in January Watanabe He said there are many difficulties. So where do you think the problem comes from on the electrical side?

[Ground Effect]

So every bit of rumor is a fact in your eyes?

It's not a rumor. It was reported by Andrew Benson of BBC which means that it is true. Whether Newey was lying in order to gain a resource advantage or other competitive benefit is a separate question.

Got it. So a rumor when repeated by someone from BBC becomes fact.

It's not because it was reported by someone from the BBC, it's because it was reported by Andrew Benson, who has proved to be very reliable in his F1 reporting for decades. He doesn't claim gossip as fact.

[mzso]

That's such a lie, and you should know it. This narrative was made by a few journalists and no one who actually worked with Alonso at the time says that. You can believe what you want but in this case you are wrong

No point in arguing. Some of you guys dreamed up a massively rosy view of him, despite all the crap he put out in interviews and stuff he did, like blackmailing the team principal because he didn't get special treatment, and wasting his own championship with a penalty worthy dirty move in qualifying. It's not likely that you'll open your eyes now...

[TyreSlip]

That's such a lie, and you should know it. This narrative was made by a few journalists and no one who actually worked with Alonso at the time says that. You can believe what you want but in this case you are wrong

No point in arguing. Some of you guys dreamed up a massively rosy view of him, despite all the crap he put out in interviews and stuff he did, like blackmailing the team principal because he didn't get special treatment, and wasting his own championship with a penalty worthy dirty move in qualifying. It's not likely that you'll open your eyes now...

You have been spamming this thread the last two days and telling anyone who does not agree with your biased take how wrong they are. Maybe you should take your own advice?

[diffuser]

Wasn't Asaki the lead during Honda's recovery?

Based on what the BBC quoted Newey as saying to the commission, It looks like it's not related to the ICE. It purely electrical. Since the MGU-K can deploy energy, recovery should just be software.

Who knows, I'm so disenchanted with Honda at this point. As an Alonso fan, I painfully lived through the first debacle.
I stanchly defended them failure after failure. I was soooooooooooooooooooo wrong. I'll also say I was pissed when AM signed with them.

Well, in all official statements they have always declared that they have achieved the objectives set with the electric engine, while with the ICE they have been having difficulties for months, already in January Watanabe He said there are many difficulties. So where do you think the problem comes from on the electrical side?

Because the Beson quote said "Several sources told BBC Sport this week that Newey said at Wednesday's meeting of the F1 Commission - a rule-making body comprising all the teams as well as F1 and the FIA - that the Honda power-unit could not even recover energy at the lower limit of 250kw, let alone the higher one of 350kw, which comes into force under certain circumstances in the highly complex rules."

[velizare]

It's not a rumor. It was reported by Andrew Benson of BBC which means that it is true. Whether Newey was lying in order to gain a resource advantage or other competitive benefit is a separate question.

Got it. So a rumor when repeated by someone from BBC becomes fact.

It's not because it was reported by someone from the BBC, it's because it was reported by Andrew Benson, who has proved to be very reliable in his F1 reporting for decades. He doesn't claim gossip as fact.

anyway, 100 kW is huge, ~134 hp. alpine had as they say 15-20 less last year, which resulted over a second slower time on monza qualy.

[FNTC]

With all the cooling talk in Barcelona etc, I am thinking it might be the battery pack and/or control electronics overheating if they run 250kw through it during regen?

[TyreSlip]

Got it. So a rumor when repeated by someone from BBC becomes fact.

It's not because it was reported by someone from the BBC, it's because it was reported by Andrew Benson, who has proved to be very reliable in his F1 reporting for decades. He doesn't claim gossip as fact.

anyway, 100 kW is huge, ~134 hp.

It is so frustrating that there are only 8 days left to submit final specifications.

[diffuser]

It's not because it was reported by someone from the BBC, it's because it was reported by Andrew Benson, who has proved to be very reliable in his F1 reporting for decades. He doesn't claim gossip as fact.

anyway, 100 kW is huge, ~134 hp.

It is so frustrating that there are only 8 days left to submit final specifications.

I'll be surprised to see that apply to Honda. We have ADUO this year.

How the ADUO System Works
Performance Monitoring
- Early in the season (first ~5 races), the FIA monitors the average performance of the internal combustion engine (ICE) component of each manufacturer’s PU.
- ICE power output is compared with the highest-performing PU.

Qualification for ADUO
- If a manufacturer’s ICE power is more than 3 % below the highest at the specified checkpoint, they can qualify for ADUO.

What ADUO Lets a Manufacturer Do
- When a PU manufacturer qualifies for ADUO, they can:
Develop upgrades to the PU beyond the normal mid-season restrictions — which otherwise are tightly limited in F1.
Use extra power unit test-bench hours — giving more scope to try and improve performance.
Potentially re-homologate parts (within strict guidelines) to improve competitiveness.
In some cases, financial cost cap relief is also factored in for development costs.

In sporting regulations, PU manufacturers that meet ADUO criteria are granted additional ICE operation hours (e.g., +30 % in a 12 month period) for development after the fifth race.

When It Applies
- The ADUO is mainly assessed once early in the season (after the first ~5 races).
- The FIA monitors performance to decide who qualifies and how much uplift (if any) is granted.
- The FIA also retains the right to revoke ADUO status if performance suddenly improves in a way that creates imbalance.

[edu2703]

I wonder if Honda might sacrifice even more power in exchange for reliability. They could homologate a weak engine, but one that at least lasts a full race, and has enough power for the car to stay within the 107% in qualifying.

They would even be lapped by Cadillac, but bizarrely, finishing a race would be an improvement from pre-season, and by solving most of reliability issues, they could focus on gradually increasing the power.

[Leon Kennedy]

Based on what the BBC quoted Newey as saying to the commission, It looks like it's not related to the ICE. It purely electrical. Since the MGU-K can deploy energy, recovery should just be software.

Who knows, I'm so disenchanted with Honda at this point. As an Alonso fan, I painfully lived through the first debacle.
I stanchly defended them failure after failure. I was soooooooooooooooooooo wrong. I'll also say I was pissed when AM signed with them.

Well, in all official statements they have always declared that they have achieved the objectives set with the electric engine, while with the ICE they have been having difficulties for months, already in January Watanabe He said there are many difficulties. So where do you think the problem comes from on the electrical side?

Because the Beson quote said "Several sources told BBC Sport this week that Newey said at Wednesday's meeting of the F1 Commission - a rule-making body comprising all the teams as well as F1 and the FIA - that the Honda power-unit could not even recover energy at the lower limit of 250kw, let alone the higher one of 350kw, which comes into force under certain circumstances in the highly complex rules."

And I think it's due to the ice that they can't recover enough energy. Do you think it's a problem with the MGU-K? Come on, I don't think so. They themselves said the electrical part was good.

[Leon Kennedy]

I wonder if Honda might sacrifice even more power in exchange for reliability. They could homologate a weak engine, but one that at least lasts a full race, and has enough power for the car to stay within the 107% in qualifying.

They would even be lapped by Cadillac, but bizarrely, finishing a race would be an improvement from pre-season, and by solving most of reliability issues, they could focus on gradually increasing the power.

I think differently: it's better to qualify first and not finish the race than to finish the race lapped. Also because reliability can be improved without restrictions. They should push for performance at all costs, like Renault did in 2022 and I remember Rossi saying this at the time, in fact Renault never had any more problems with reliability.


Personally, I am not convinced by ADUO, because the others continue to develop it and it is practically the same thing called differently, as the concessions they made in MotoGP and SBK, None of the beneficiaries made significant progress during the season, only BMW made the difference (in my opinion for Toprak).

[TyreSlip]

Personally, I am not convinced by ADUO, because the others continue to develop it and it is practically the same thing called differently, as the concessions they made in MotoGP and SBK, None of the beneficiaries made significant progress during the season, only BMW made the difference (in my opinion for Toprak).

I thought the same, but someone here said they get a budget increase in development, so it is a positive thing.

[diffuser]

Well, in all official statements they have always declared that they have achieved the objectives set with the electric engine, while with the ICE they have been having difficulties for months, already in January Watanabe He said there are many difficulties. So where do you think the problem comes from on the electrical side?

Because the Beson quote said "Several sources told BBC Sport this week that Newey said at Wednesday's meeting of the F1 Commission - a rule-making body comprising all the teams as well as F1 and the FIA - that the Honda power-unit could not even recover energy at the lower limit of 250kw, let alone the higher one of 350kw, which comes into force under certain circumstances in the highly complex rules."

And I think it's due to the ice that they can't recover enough energy. Do you think it's a problem with the MGU-K? Come on, I don't think so. They themselves said the electrical part was good.

My guess is that this is a software issue. The driver’s throttle demands need to be carefully managed in conjunction with spinning the MGU-K to maximize battery recharge. As soon as the driver releases the brakes, the ICE should immediately provide enough energy to spin the MGU-K to achieve the maximum possible—or the maximum allowed under the rules—of electrical energy recovery. As the driver increases throttle input, the power unit must gradually transition ICE torque from driving the MGU-K to driving the wheels. By “transition,” I mean that the MGU-K initially acts as a brake on the crankshaft to generate electricity, but as throttle is applied, its braking or regenerative effect must ease, allowing the crankshaft to deliver torque directly to the wheels.

I said "As soon as the driver releases the brake", which might not be exactly right. If the amount the driver is braking is not enough to max energy recovery, maybe the ICE should start driving the MGU-K to keep it at max recovery and the actual brakes need to do more braking.

[dialtone]

Folks you have a gearbox that falls apart in a few km. Most of the recovery energy loss is in there. Max recovery is basically mass of the car and its speed. Braking recovery goes through gearbox, shaft and MGU-K that slow down the rear wheels directly.

If you can’t recover it’s not the ICE, at most the ICE doesn’t make you go as fast, but the ICE could be off and it wouldn’t change the energy recovery at all.