2026 Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team

[Mclarensenna]

First of all, I'm very happy with the chassis update. It seems to be working really well.

I'm surprised that we were almost 5 seconds behind the fastest car before, and now we're only 2 seconds or less behind the leader. We've gained an average of 3 seconds (depending on the circuit), and nobody is saying anything?

From what I usually read here, Honda gets blamed for everything. And no one says anything about the chassis? Well, I will. The chassis was complete rubbish and a huge handicap, even for Honda.

And honestly, I don't care if anyone tries to convince me otherwise. I'm just here to give my opinion: the chassis that debuted in 2026 was the main cause of all the team's problems. We were 5 seconds off the pace because of the terrible chassis Aston Martin built.

Just as Honda has been criticized for its disastrous start—and I think that's completely fair—I'm also going to criticize the disastrous start of the chassis. It was the worst on the grid and the real handicap that was costing us several seconds to the leader. Like it or not, that's the truth.

The good thing is that they seem to have found the right direction, but these things need to be said. People here love to talk, blame some, and stay silent about others.

One more thing: besides the extra power Honda is bringing, the package will also include weight reduction and, I believe, a lighter gearbox. We should easily be able to find another half a second per lap.

I am very confused at how you came to the conclusion the Aston Martin Chassis somehow gained 3 seconds? The Belgium Grand prix is the most "Horsepower sensitive" (lets use this term for this conversation) track and Monaco the least "horsepower sensitive" track that cars have raced at this year thus far. And what did we see in qualifying at both tracks? Lets use Bottas as a benchmark as he has many pole positions and very experienced.

At Monaco Alonso was less than 1 tenth behind Bottas, very close to identical times, but in Belgium was a WOPPING 2 seconds a lap slower than Bottas. So this to me shows a huge difference in the engine performance between the 2 cars. Then we get to Hungary a track that is very low on the "horsepower sensitivity" and with the new chassis Alonso in Q1 was around 7 tenths quicker than Bottas. My calculations show the updated Hungary Chassis has gained a good .7 seconds maybe 1 second a lap which is a big step for sure, but nowhere near 3 seconds a lap.

[Petebass]

I do believe Honda can make a major step forward with the engine this time, for several reasons.

Honda has said that their goal is not only to improve power, but also reliability and friction reduction.

First and foremost, I think the engine is currently so far behind the competition that the initial gains are the "easiest" to achieve (just as we've seen with the chassis). The final few tenths will be the hardest to find.

Secondly, the fact that they're talking about reliability makes me think they haven't been able to push the current engine to its full potential, for one reason or another—or perhaps several at once: vibrations, failures, integration with the chassis or gearbox, and so on.

As for friction, I assume this means the engine produces a certain level of power on the dyno, but once installed in the car, a larger-than-expected percentage of that power is being lost.

All the rumors point to an improvement of around 35–50 hp. While there's nothing confirmed and that would be a very significant gain, it would still likely leave Honda with the weakest engine on the grid—even after six more months of development—so it wouldn't be anything extraordinary in relative terms.

That said, despite all of this, there's always the possibility of another Honda disappointment. I just hope that, with these power units being simpler than the previous generation, the time needed to catch up to the front-runners will be much shorter than it was last time.

[FNTC]

Supposedly first view of the new PU on track.

[GoranF1]

Supposedly first view of the new PU on track.

I hear 42 hp more than previous version.

[F1RAM]

90HP sounds exaggerated. The rule of thumb used to be 1% power = 0,15s of lap time on average. So if you are losing 1,5s of time because of engine power that would be a 10% deficit, or in this case around 40kW (54HP). That may be closer to 1s in Hungary and more like 2s on a track like Spa.

Keep in mind Alonso was only 1,8s behind in Q1 in Hungary.

Everyone is throwing out wildly different numbers which is an indication they have no clue. Honda and its acolytes also have previous form in terms of being over-optimistic in their predictions. A hefty dose of realism and reason is needed here. I think anything close to a 20 HP upgrade (running reliably) would be a very good start.

Engines are about 1000hp so yes 10% / 90HP seems right

If they are still 50hp down after the upgrade it will still be difficult to do something.

Maybe for 2027 being only 20-30hp down and close the gap in 2028

Can you explain where you got 10% and why are you comparing it to 1000HP?
ADUO is for the ICE only. Here are the ranges for ADUO and the allowances they get:

The number of in‑season upgrades scales with the deficit —
2–4% adrift gets two upgrades in 2026 and 2027;
4–6% gets four;
6–8% gets six;
8–10% gets eight

As far as I know, the FIA granted Honda 2 upgrade allowance, that puts them in 2-4% from the top ICE.
Assumming the top ICE makes 500HP
2–4% of 500 horsepower ranges from 10 HP to 20 HP
4-6% is 20HP to 30HP
6-8% is 30HP to 40 HP

2-4% is still 20 to 40HP out of of 1000 horsepower
4-6% is 40HP to 60HP
6-8% is 60HP to 80 HP

Now, if they are in the 6-8% range, they get 6 ADUO allowances? Is this number correct?


From ASWEB

—— I heard you plan to introduce a new engine at the 12th round, the Dutch GP. I believe the trigger for this was the new system 'ADUO (Additional Development Upgrade Opportunities)' applied to power unit development starting in 2026. This system allows PU manufacturers who are lagging behind competitors to take multiple measures to accelerate their development if their performance is judged to be 2–4% or more lower than competitors. How was it when the FIA notified you of this? Were you shocked to find that it doesn't produce so much horsepower compared to the top engine? Or was it within expectations based on various data?

Shintaro Orihara, Trackside General Manager and Chief Engineer (hereafter, GM Orihara): "Well, it was within expectations. We had a rough grasp of the competitiveness, so we understood how much we were losing. The figures from the FIA were almost the same as what we had known, so I think they are reasonable figures."

Check this post and comments..

https://x.com/i/status/2063690272173629592

[Waz]

It's strange that this mythical Mercedes algorithm doesn't fall under the requirements for things that a PU manufacturer must provide to their clients. Ultimately, what's the difference between this and the days when manufacturers would reserve the best engine-modes for themselves? Sorry for OT.

Its like one of many other things that doesnt make any sense in these regulation.

If the other teams are allowed to create their own deployment maps, which I believe they are, then there's no problem with that.

Why shouldn't the works teams have a small advantage? It's not a baked in advantage, and the smarter customers will be able to figure it out by next season at most. McLaren are probably quite close already.

Honda could use a customer team though to double the data.

[mzso]

Supposedly first view of the new PU on track.

It's a bit suspicious that there's a different car in the distance. I don't expect they can run a promotional test in parallel to the Pirelli test. It normally includes some actual filming, from other cars with a camera crew.

[FNTC]

It's a bit suspicious that there's a different car in the distance. I don't expect they can run a promotional test in parallel to the Pirelli test. It normally includes some actual filming, from other cars with a camera crew.

Yeah, that's why I wrote supposedly, could be from yesterday's tire test too.

[mzso]

It's a bit suspicious that there's a different car in the distance. I don't expect they can run a promotional test in parallel to the Pirelli test. It normally includes some actual filming, from other cars with a camera crew.

Yeah, that's why I wrote supposedly, could be from yesterday's tire test too.

This is more convincing. The new spec rear wing actuator is clear to see.

[FNTC]

I tried to study the rear wing, but it as too grainy for me to see if it was the old actuator pod or the new "bow" above it on a copy of that video. But in your copy here it looks like that bow. Also the same person had a video from the same location from 3hrs ago today with an Alpine. Not sure if Alpine also had filming day today, but could not find any info on that.

[ispano6]

Check this post and comments..

https://x.com/i/status/2063690272173629592

This post is not proof. The proof is the number of ADUO that was granted. The ADUO power range of the teams was not openly disclosed so saying Honda was down 6-8% doesn't have validity whatsoever. They toss this around while the real ADUO allowance granted should more accurately place them in a theoretical range. So, as far as I know, Honda was granted 2, but will only bring one. The 2nd team developing next year's is working on a completely different fuel flow while eying what the ADUO 1 performance brings. If they were leaving 5 ADUO opportunities on the table for 2026/7 that would put them at 6-8% . But there NEVER once has any mention by anyone publishing Honda's ADUO allowance stated they had more than 2. And by regulation 2 ADUO equals 2-4% down on ICE HP. So unless the Allowance per range was reduced or Honda was granted 6 changes and is only bringing 1 so far. With Honda never say never and any ADUO allowance they could bring legally would be brought if there isn't a severe addition to cost caps. But those costcaps also increase per ADUO range. From the Japanese media I've read, it was implied the ADUO opportunities and cost cap are STILL limited and that the reason they're only bringing one ADUO upgrade is to make the most of the ADUO they will spend or have the budget to. I think this 6-8% and the number of allowances granted are mismatched and are thrown out just paint the narrative that they are soooooo far behind when in truth by FIA analysis of PU found it to be less. Never trust what the echochamber western press regurgitates as it's just for sensationalism and click bait.

[mzso]

All sources said 4% plus with two updates this year and two next year.

[ispano6]

I'm not aware of any restrictions for film days that pertain to what chassis is run. Technically the summer break has started and the mandatory shutdown is two weeks. Two weeks starting when? Summer break is 4weeks. So for two of those weeks they can run both specs in a film day, with A-spec chassis still legal to use.

[ispano6]

All sources said 4% plus with two updates this year and two next year.

Then 4-6% of ~500 hp is 20-40 HP. Probably not as weak as some wanted it to be. Sure, track data may show a bigger deficit that is due to clipping sooner and running out of deployment of 400hp sooner than others. So the 10hp giving 0.1s laptime isn't an accurate measure to go by since 50 ICE hp could very well serve an efficient hybrid system more deployable energy for longer. Honda's confidence is in their hybrid system's ability to charge and discharge at high rates. This harvesting is affected by the peak performance and stability of the highest RPM range. Like some others have mentioned, they're likely not able to use the highest RPM range due to knock or other characteristics that require a redesign of the combustion and improved friction resistance. And this was alluded to the quality and maturity of the combustion of the fuel.

[mzso]

Well. Until then the fact that no evidence of a breakdown surfaced should serve as a good sign I guess.