2026 Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team

[diffuser]

I'm thinking keeping the revs in the higher RPM range would allow the MGUK to harvest at wide open throttle down the straight, especially with active aero open in straight line mode. Shifting up to 8th would drop RPMs and out of the peak powerband. If the PU is clipping and needs to start harvesting, the engine should be at the highest RPM as possible when it does.

I would not disagree with that.

the 'peak powerband' is presumably the only place within which fueling occurs at the maximum permitted heat rate ....
at what rpm is this relative to the magic 10500 ?

does the 'boost' adjust to maintain the air rate ? (eg with rpm rise)

Corrected me if I'm wrong but in this thread we were talking about why Alonso often would stay in 7th gear down straights. I used Miami as example when he was chasing Perez. Part of it was 8th gear was difficult to accelerate in unless you're deploying electrical energy. ispano6 has suggested that in 7th gear he can maintain the max speed that gear has to offer. Use the reminder of the ICE power at high RPM to recharge the battery.

I think you're talking about how are we're managing fuel flow and richness over the RPM range?

[etusch]

Yes, correct me if I'm wrong, but when there is sufficient df, what kind of expression is "excessive engine power" When you talk about racing? Especially in higher gears...

I think Alonso could go 25-30 km/h faster in 7th gear by revving up a bit more (if the engine and battery are at a suitable level, that is when Honda achieves its intended performance).
And it's a bit difficult for me to understand what "excessive power," except for the 2 situations
range up to 140 km/h ( or what km/h now) df allows full power,
during braking.
( I don’t know if they used 8th gear anytime this year. I remember that Mercedes team was short shifting 7th gear. It was only showing up on the screen and jumps to the 8th because of sequential change mechanism.
My assumption for AM team is that their 7th and 8th gears are the gears for same job. Maybe they will use 8th at monza as 7th gear. At the end it is 8th gear but basically second 7th gear slightly longer than first one for some tracks)

[Farnborough]

Its an old circuit racers "trick" to have the two top ratio quite close to identical IF there's reasonable coverage in lower ratio gaps.

It may be used for change of conditions, headwind, drag level with chosen DF to effectively trim this part of performance without the ability to swap ratios inside the box.

Also, without much overtaking so far this season for AMR cars, then that 8th ratio use in overspeed when deploying raised energy (ot mode) and slipstream effects, has simply not occurred much in reality.

Sounds like with down on power PU then 7th was sufficient/ultimate ratio to use.

[diffuser]

Yes, correct me if I'm wrong, but when there is sufficient df, what kind of expression is "excessive engine power" When you talk about racing? Especially in higher gears...

I think Alonso could go 25-30 km/h faster in 7th gear by revving up a bit more (if the engine and battery are at a suitable level, that is when Honda achieves its intended performance).
And it's a bit difficult for me to understand what "excessive power," except for the 2 situations
range up to 140 km/h ( or what km/h now) df allows full power,
during braking.
( I don’t know if they used 8th gear anytime this year. I remember that Mercedes team was short shifting 7th gear. It was only showing up on the screen and jumps to the 8th because of sequential change mechanism.
My assumption for AM team is that their 7th and 8th gears are the gears for same job. Maybe they will use 8th at monza as 7th gear. At the end it is 8th gear but basically second 7th gear slightly longer than first one for some tracks)

Let's say it takes 400HP to get you to 300KPH. It might take:
HP -------- KM/h
=== ------- ====
402 get to 301
404 ------> 302
408 ------> 303
416 ------> 304
432 ------> 305
464 ------> 306
The drag gets exponential harder to push, the faster the car travels. You ain't getting 25 - 30 KM/h over 300KM/h without serious power. That and it's easier to accelerate in 7th gear that it is in 8th.

So we're saying he might have been holding the car at 295KPH in 7th and using the remaining HP, to charge the battery to attack Perez later.


He used 8th sometimes in Hungary, when he was close behind someone. Often when he was not in traffic, he mainly wouldn't go past 7th.

[zoroastar]

Yes, correct me if I'm wrong, but when there is sufficient df, what kind of expression is "excessive engine power" When you talk about racing? Especially in higher gears...

I think Alonso could go 25-30 km/h faster in 7th gear by revving up a bit more (if the engine and battery are at a suitable level, that is when Honda achieves its intended performance).
And it's a bit difficult for me to understand what "excessive power," except for the 2 situations
range up to 140 km/h ( or what km/h now) df allows full power,
during braking.
( I don’t know if they used 8th gear anytime this year. I remember that Mercedes team was short shifting 7th gear. It was only showing up on the screen and jumps to the 8th because of sequential change mechanism.
My assumption for AM team is that their 7th and 8th gears are the gears for same job. Maybe they will use 8th at monza as 7th gear. At the end it is 8th gear but basically second 7th gear slightly longer than first one for some tracks)

Let's say it takes 400HP to get you to 300KPH. It might take:
HP -------- KM/h
=== ------- ====
402 get to 301
404 ------> 302
408 ------> 303
416 ------> 304
432 ------> 305
464 ------> 306
The drag gets exponential harder to push, the faster the car travels. You ain't getting 25 - 30 KM/h over 300KM/h without serious power. That and it's easier to accelerate in 7th gear that it is in 8th.

So we're saying he might have been holding the car at 295KPH in 7th and using the remaining HP, to charge the battery to attack Perez later.


He used 8th sometimes in Hungary, when he was close behind someone. Often when he was not in traffic, he mainly wouldn't go past 7th.

maybe drafting helped him get use outta that top gear. and otherwise hes staying where the power and torque is in 7th. maybe until they update the PU it falls on its face in top gear with the current gearbox. be interesting to see if it changes as the engine is upgraded.

[ispano6]

I didn't fully understand the comment, especially regarding the phrase "active aero open on the straights." The part about high revs is ok. However, the section where the wings open, reducing friction, isn't energy recovery; it's where energy is consumed to generate speed. The section where the wings close, increasing downforce, is energy recovery. Maybe misunderstand ispano6 here. I don't know.

Instead of relying solely on the rear wheel, turning the Ice into a generator is something I think everyone does. In this respect, the new gearbox and the vibration-free, revving engine are promising. Even without the extra horsepower, these two alone would have provided a performance increase. Therefore, I think the horsepower gained with the new Honda Ice is only half the current situation.

It could differ per track layout and what kind of corners come after the straightline. The trade off of not shifting up to 8th to realize top speed is minimized by straightline mode reduced aero drag and parasitic MGUK drag when clipping starts. The confusing aspect of clipping vs harvesting under braking is that you may have maps where even if you lift to coast you may experience a spike in RPMs. Ideally if you could be in neutral gear and rev the engine up to max RPM(like at race starts) without affecting the gradual deceleration from coasting, you'd utilize that kind of map. During harvesting on straights you are at max throttle and when clipping starts the drivetrain could theoretically disengage the rear gearbox such that any rotation of the PU goes directly to the MGUK and instead of engine braking slowing down the car you just coast as efficiently as possible. I'm not saying this is what Honda is exactly doing but there was evidence of this kind of RPM spike behavior in several preseason test runs and at some circuits. Having the lowest numbers in the speed trap may be a choice where the benefit of reaching beyond that speed doesn't pay off as much due to having to brake harder or put more energy into the tyres when attacking a corner. It might be Alonso's tyres in Hungary didn't degrade as much because the car is geared toward efficiency and less delta in corner entry speeds from deceleration. The penalty is not having straightline speed to catch your opponent if you aren't within 1 second behind to use overtake mode. The new chassis should give the AMR26 the ability to catch the car in front through the corners and be able to use overtake mode when it becomes available. Hopefully the team is figuring this out.

[diffuser]

Yes, correct me if I'm wrong, but when there is sufficient df, what kind of expression is "excessive engine power" When you talk about racing? Especially in higher gears...

I think Alonso could go 25-30 km/h faster in 7th gear by revving up a bit more (if the engine and battery are at a suitable level, that is when Honda achieves its intended performance).
And it's a bit difficult for me to understand what "excessive power," except for the 2 situations
range up to 140 km/h ( or what km/h now) df allows full power,
during braking.
( I don’t know if they used 8th gear anytime this year. I remember that Mercedes team was short shifting 7th gear. It was only showing up on the screen and jumps to the 8th because of sequential change mechanism.
My assumption for AM team is that their 7th and 8th gears are the gears for same job. Maybe they will use 8th at monza as 7th gear. At the end it is 8th gear but basically second 7th gear slightly longer than first one for some tracks)

Let's say it takes 400HP to get you to 300KPH. It might take:
HP -------- KM/h
=== ------- ====
402 get to 301
404 ------> 302
408 ------> 303
416 ------> 304
432 ------> 305
464 ------> 306
The drag gets exponential harder to push, the faster the car travels. You ain't getting 25 - 30 KM/h over 300KM/h without serious power. That and it's easier to accelerate in 7th gear that it is in 8th.

So we're saying he might have been holding the car at 295KPH in 7th and using the remaining HP, to charge the battery to attack Perez later.


He used 8th sometimes in Hungary, when he was close behind someone. Often when he was not in traffic, he mainly wouldn't go past 7th.

maybe drafting helped him get use outta that top gear. and otherwise hes staying where the power and torque is in 7th. maybe until they update the PU it falls on its face in top gear with the current gearbox. be interesting to see if it changes as the engine is upgraded.

I think it's deployment, they didn't have alot of deployment. When you're close behind someone, you get extra deployment. You need a serious push from the MGU-K to get that car up to 322KPH, there isn't alot of room on that straight either. It takes longer to stop from 322kph, so you have to start braking earlier. More wear on the tires too. It's not lift and coast any more. It's super clip, lift and coast.

I'm sure with the new ICE, we'll not see him stay in 7th any more but he'll still do the super clip, lift and coast.

[etusch]

He used 8th sometimes in Hungary, when he was close behind someone. Often when he was not in traffic, he mainly wouldn't go past 7th.

What I'm saying isn't about how much power is needed for how much speed. Assuming Honda achieves the power it aims for but hasn't yet reached, with this transmission design, it could reach the same speed as its rivals in 7th gear; speed difference is at that level.
If it used 8th gear when there was a car in front at Hungary, it might be to reduce high-rev vibrations or keep the engine a bit cooler. I hope the next race will give us clearer information on this (resolved vibration and a little bit more power). And I think my assumption about 8th gear will only be confirmed in Monza if it is true.

[diffuser]

He used 8th sometimes in Hungary, when he was close behind someone. Often when he was not in traffic, he mainly wouldn't go past 7th.

What I'm saying isn't about how much power is needed for how much speed. Assuming Honda achieves the power it aims for but hasn't yet reached, with this transmission design, it could reach the same speed as its rivals in 7th gear; speed difference is at that level.
If it used 8th gear when there was a car in front at Hungary, it might be to reduce high-rev vibrations or keep the engine a bit cooler. I hope the next race will give us clearer information on this (resolved vibration and a little bit more power). And I think my assumption about 8th gear will only be confirmed in Monza if it is true.

I think, the new ICE, which will arrive with a new gearbox and a fix for the vibrations/oscillations will change Alonso's behavior. Not sure how you're gonna use that to root cause the problem.

[BassVirolla]

I didn't fully understand the comment, especially regarding the phrase "active aero open on the straights." The part about high revs is ok. However, the section where the wings open, reducing friction, isn't energy recovery; it's where energy is consumed to generate speed. The section where the wings close, increasing downforce, is energy recovery. Maybe misunderstand ispano6 here. I don't know.

Instead of relying solely on the rear wheel, turning the Ice into a generator is something I think everyone does. In this respect, the new gearbox and the vibration-free, revving engine are promising. Even without the extra horsepower, these two alone would have provided a performance increase. Therefore, I think the horsepower gained with the new Honda Ice is only half the current situation.

It could differ per track layout and what kind of corners come after the straightline. The trade off of not shifting up to 8th to realize top speed is minimized by straightline mode reduced aero drag and parasitic MGUK drag when clipping starts. The confusing aspect of clipping vs harvesting under braking is that you may have maps where even if you lift to coast you may experience a spike in RPMs. Ideally if you could be in neutral gear and rev the engine up to max RPM(like at race starts) without affecting the gradual deceleration from coasting, you'd utilize that kind of map. During harvesting on straights you are at max throttle and when clipping starts the drivetrain could theoretically disengage the rear gearbox such that any rotation of the PU goes directly to the MGUK and instead of engine braking slowing down the car you just coast as efficiently as possible. I'm not saying this is what Honda is exactly doing but there was evidence of this kind of RPM spike behavior in several preseason test runs and at some circuits. Having the lowest numbers in the speed trap may be a choice where the benefit of reaching beyond that speed doesn't pay off as much due to having to brake harder or put more energy into the tyres when attacking a corner. It might be Alonso's tyres in Hungary didn't degrade as much because the car is geared toward efficiency and less delta in corner entry speeds from deceleration. The penalty is not having straightline speed to catch your opponent if you aren't within 1 second behind to use overtake mode. The new chassis should give the AMR26 the ability to catch the car in front through the corners and be able to use overtake mode when it becomes available. Hopefully the team is figuring this out.

Some time ago I've presented this same idea in the 2026 PU thread.

Fuel flow is linked to power demand by the driver (throttle position) as much as it allows, if my memory serves me well, no more than 120kw when off-throttle.

Edit: for maximum recovery, it would be necessary to put neutral or disengage the clutch while pressing the throttle.

[diffuser]

I didn't fully understand the comment, especially regarding the phrase "active aero open on the straights." The part about high revs is ok. However, the section where the wings open, reducing friction, isn't energy recovery; it's where energy is consumed to generate speed. The section where the wings close, increasing downforce, is energy recovery. Maybe misunderstand ispano6 here. I don't know.

Instead of relying solely on the rear wheel, turning the Ice into a generator is something I think everyone does. In this respect, the new gearbox and the vibration-free, revving engine are promising. Even without the extra horsepower, these two alone would have provided a performance increase. Therefore, I think the horsepower gained with the new Honda Ice is only half the current situation.

It could differ per track layout and what kind of corners come after the straightline. The trade off of not shifting up to 8th to realize top speed is minimized by straightline mode reduced aero drag and parasitic MGUK drag when clipping starts. The confusing aspect of clipping vs harvesting under braking is that you may have maps where even if you lift to coast you may experience a spike in RPMs. Ideally if you could be in neutral gear and rev the engine up to max RPM(like at race starts) without affecting the gradual deceleration from coasting, you'd utilize that kind of map. During harvesting on straights you are at max throttle and when clipping starts the drivetrain could theoretically disengage the rear gearbox such that any rotation of the PU goes directly to the MGUK and instead of engine braking slowing down the car you just coast as efficiently as possible. I'm not saying this is what Honda is exactly doing but there was evidence of this kind of RPM spike behavior in several preseason test runs and at some circuits. Having the lowest numbers in the speed trap may be a choice where the benefit of reaching beyond that speed doesn't pay off as much due to having to brake harder or put more energy into the tyres when attacking a corner. It might be Alonso's tyres in Hungary didn't degrade as much because the car is geared toward efficiency and less delta in corner entry speeds from deceleration. The penalty is not having straightline speed to catch your opponent if you aren't within 1 second behind to use overtake mode. The new chassis should give the AMR26 the ability to catch the car in front through the corners and be able to use overtake mode when it becomes available. Hopefully the team is figuring this out.

Some time ago I've presented this same idea in the 2026 PU thread.

Fuel flow is linked to power demand by the driver (throttle position) as much as it allows, if my memory serves me well, no more than 120kw when off-throttle.

Edit: for maximum recovery, it would be necessary to put neutral or disengage the clutch while pressing the throttle.

The ECU can do whatever it's programming wants...
During superclipping - Imagine the driver is flat through a long straight.
Initially:
Pedal: 100%
Throttle: ~100%
ICE: Maximum permitted torque
MGU-K: +350 kW

As battery energy becomes limited:
Pedal: 100%
Throttle: ~100%
ICE: Same maximum permitted torque
MGU-K: +250 kW

Later:
Pedal: 100%
Throttle: ~100%
ICE: Same maximum permitted torque
MGU-K: 0 kW

The driver is still requesting full power. The ICE is still producing as much torque as the regulations and engine allow. The loss in acceleration comes from reduced electric assistance, not because the throttle closes.

What about harvesting at full throttle?

This is where the 2026 rules are different. The MGU-K is allowed to generate torque (negative torque) even while the driver is at full throttle if the control strategy calls for it. In that case:

ICE torque +700 Nm
MGU-K torque -40 Nm
Wheel torque +660 Nm

The engine itself doesn't have to close the throttle to create that harvesting opportunity. The MGU-K simply applies a small resisting torque, converting some crankshaft power into electrical energy.

[BassVirolla]

It could differ per track layout and what kind of corners come after the straightline. The trade off of not shifting up to 8th to realize top speed is minimized by straightline mode reduced aero drag and parasitic MGUK drag when clipping starts. The confusing aspect of clipping vs harvesting under braking is that you may have maps where even if you lift to coast you may experience a spike in RPMs. Ideally if you could be in neutral gear and rev the engine up to max RPM(like at race starts) without affecting the gradual deceleration from coasting, you'd utilize that kind of map. During harvesting on straights you are at max throttle and when clipping starts the drivetrain could theoretically disengage the rear gearbox such that any rotation of the PU goes directly to the MGUK and instead of engine braking slowing down the car you just coast as efficiently as possible. I'm not saying this is what Honda is exactly doing but there was evidence of this kind of RPM spike behavior in several preseason test runs and at some circuits. Having the lowest numbers in the speed trap may be a choice where the benefit of reaching beyond that speed doesn't pay off as much due to having to brake harder or put more energy into the tyres when attacking a corner. It might be Alonso's tyres in Hungary didn't degrade as much because the car is geared toward efficiency and less delta in corner entry speeds from deceleration. The penalty is not having straightline speed to catch your opponent if you aren't within 1 second behind to use overtake mode. The new chassis should give the AMR26 the ability to catch the car in front through the corners and be able to use overtake mode when it becomes available. Hopefully the team is figuring this out.

Some time ago I've presented this same idea in the 2026 PU thread.

Fuel flow is linked to power demand by the driver (throttle position) as much as it allows, if my memory serves me well, no more than 120kw when off-throttle.

Edit: for maximum recovery, it would be necessary to put neutral or disengage the clutch while pressing the throttle.

The ECU can do whatever it's programming wants...
During superclipping - Imagine the driver is flat through a long straight.
Initially:
Pedal: 100%
Throttle: ~100%
ICE: Maximum permitted torque
MGU-K: +350 kW

As battery energy becomes limited:
Pedal: 100%
Throttle: ~100%
ICE: Same maximum permitted torque
MGU-K: +250 kW

Later:
Pedal: 100%
Throttle: ~100%
ICE: Same maximum permitted torque
MGU-K: 0 kW

The driver is still requesting full power. The ICE is still producing as much torque as the regulations and engine allow. The loss in acceleration comes from reduced electric assistance, not because the throttle closes.

What about harvesting at full throttle?

This is where the 2026 rules are different. The MGU-K is allowed to generate torque (negative torque) even while the driver is at full throttle if the control strategy calls for it. In that case:

ICE torque +700 Nm
MGU-K torque -40 Nm
Wheel torque +660 Nm

The engine itself doesn't have to close the throttle to create that harvesting opportunity. The MGU-K simply applies a small resisting torque, converting some crankshaft power into electrical energy.

I totally agree

Note that we are talking about coasting while in neutral (not seen, by the way).

Edit: and / or under no request of throttle by the driver.

[V10FURY]

I wonder if Aston can catch Alpine and Audi by the end of this year, and then work towards Racing Bulls and the lead 4 teams for next year. If Honda can give them 30+ Hp with good reliability, better deployment and recharging I think that may be possible at the less power hungry tracks left this year.

Fingers crossed for a positive outcome at Zandvoort, but the Sprint weekend is not great for the team to get on top of the new PU and chassis first time out. At Baku I expect the team to really hit their stride and get on a positive track for 2027 to close the gap to Red Bull who are currently 4th.

Some good news is the wind tunnel hours Aston Martin can use as they had such a disastrous start to the season to potentially use for the 2027 AMR27:

Updated Development Breakdown :
(July 1 – Dec 31)

This gives Adrian Newey's technical team a massive aerodynamic testing advantage over the front-runners to fix the car's weight and performance deficits:
Testing Metric First Half of 2026 (7th Place)
Second Half of 2026 (10th Place)
Scale Percentage100%
New Baseline 115% +15% Allocation Wind Tunnel Now 368 runs +48 extra runs
CFD Simulations 2,000 items baseline
2,300 items +300 extra items new baseline


For context this grants Aston Martin 144 more wind tunnel runs than championship leader Mercedes (who are restricted to just 224 runs at 70%) to close out the year.

Hopefully the extra wind tunnel and CFD allotment can be used to get the AMR27 into testing earlier, and come out in 2027 with a more competitive package in Bahrain. Time will tell of course if this will help them catch the mid field teams and get to the back of the top 4.

[dren]

How much laptime is the Honda upgrade rumored to bring? I'd guess the bump in regen to the max should be sizeable in itself.

[TyreSlip]

How much laptime is the Honda upgrade rumored to bring? I'd guess the bump in regen to the max should be sizeable in itself.

Soymotor reported that 6 tenths was gained during the Hungary test.