2026 Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team

[Jambier]

According to FormulaRacers on Twitter, Honda was happy with the test today.

No more vibrations, and the car is 6 tenths quicker.

If true:
- 6 tenths is good
- Then, they need to do the same this winter, a bit more, and in 2027 they will have an engine that can fight with the others

[diffuser]

Audi too isn't bringing their 2nd ADUO engine this year...

Indeed, despite using first ADUO in Barcelona.

I think 2 ADUO is almost useless for anyone, except if you do very little changes like Ferrari, but then it means little gains.

Anyway, what we don't know is energy harvesting / Deployment, which is in fact the weaker point of the Honda engine, so if they can fix this even without ADUO it will make great gains

Agreed, it's cumulative. You need time for your R&D to make gains. Whether you have a A B C versions or just a A then C version, will not change what the C version performance will be like.

[mzso]

Audi too isn't bringing their 2nd ADUO engine this year...

Indeed, despite using first ADUO in Barcelona.

I think 2 ADUO is almost useless for anyone, except if you do very little changes like Ferrari, but then it means little gains.

Anyway, what we don't know is energy harvesting / Deployment, which is in fact the weaker point of the Honda engine, so if they can fix this even without ADUO it will make great gains

Agreed, it's cumulative. You need time for your R&D to make gains. Whether you have a A B C versions or just a A then C version, will not change what the C version performance will be like.

But you can finish higher with a B version.

[mzso]

do we know anything regarding the architecture of the engine and battery changing with this new upgrade.
I remember seeing stuff about it changing for 2027

What sort of stuff? Isn't the engine architecture essentially prescribed?
As far as we know the battery is at the same location.

[diffuser]

do we know anything regarding the architecture of the engine and battery changing with this new upgrade.
I remember seeing stuff about it changing for 2027

What sort of stuff? Isn't the engine architecture essentially prescribed?
As far as we know the battery is at the same location.

All we know is that they changed the pistons shape, the combustion chamber shape, and completely redesigned the combustion pre-chamber. I don't think it's likely they changed the positioning of the batteries or the MGU-K, as that would have required changes to the chassis. Although they might have updated them from a reliability perspective.

[etusch]

There's no need to be too negative about mgu-k side. They will make progress in this area thanks to improved grip,more stable car, a more efficient transmission, and a slightly more powerful engine that can run at higher RPMs. We'll see where they stand on electrical regeneration in the next race, or perhaps the one after that.

[diffuser]

There's no need to be too negative about mgu-k side. They will make progress in this area thanks to improved grip,more stable car, a more efficient transmission, and a slightly more powerful engine that can run at higher RPMs. We'll see where they stand on electrical regeneration in the next race, or perhaps the one after that.

I'm not convinced there is anything wrong with the MGU-K. I think it's all software and mounting problems (vibrations). The vibrations are all resolved with the new mounts on the new ICE, so we should be good to go. but I'm guessing.

[mzso]

There's no need to be too negative about mgu-k side. They will make progress in this area thanks to improved grip,more stable car, a more efficient transmission, and a slightly more powerful engine that can run at higher RPMs. We'll see where they stand on electrical regeneration in the next race, or perhaps the one after that.

I'm not convinced there is anything wrong with the MGU-K. I think it's all software and mounting problems (vibrations). The vibrations are all resolved with the new mounts on the new ICE, so we should be good to go. but I'm guessing.

I think it's mostly lack of energy because of the ICE. And it's contribution to the vibration.
Even the Monaco crash was attributed to unstable combustion by Orihara as I recall.

[PlatinumZealot]

There is no vibration ( imbalance or disturbancd from moving parts) accorsing to Honda. The problems was combustion "oscillations" caused by temperature. that were tuned out later in the session.

I'm not 100% what Ohihara means by this but is likely he means a sort of detonation wave or some slight exhaust backpressure or intake pressue wave causing reverberations??

Anyway they solved it and it's a moot point now because the new engine will have all new combustion chamber design.

[TyreSlip]

There is no vibration ( imbalance or disturbancd from moving parts) accorsing to Honda. The problems was combustion "oscillations" caused by temperature. that were tuned out later in the session.

I'm not 100% what Ohihara means by this but is likely he means a sort of detonation wave or some slight exhaust backpressure or intake pressue wave causing reverberations??

Anyway they solved it and it's a moot point now because the new engine will have all new combustion chamber design.

It sounds like you are referring to the vibration issues in FP1 with the old engine. There were no vibration issues during the test with the new one.

[etusch]

It seemed to me like he was saying the source of the vibration was ignition problems, and once honda improved that, the vibration naturally resolved.

[ispano6]

do we know anything regarding the architecture of the engine and battery changing with this new upgrade.
I remember seeing stuff about it changing for 2027

Nothing changed externally on the PU side. It was all internals that changed according to Orihara and summarized by theRace

Orihara confirmed the upgrade will not require any new installation work on the Aston Martin chassis, as all the engine modifications are internal – with Honda targeting progress in terms of both combustion and reducing friction.

In the same article:

"I don't think we're going to catch up Mercedes or RBPT by one step, but we're going to bring a reasonable big step."

Honda only plans to introduce a single homologation upgrade this season, even though under F1’s ADUO (Additional Design and Upgrade Opportunities) it is allowed to bring two.

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/what ... /?hl=en-US

[V10FURY]

If the team can get a 1% gain with the PU update on overall lap time, they will be 2.9% behind the fastest car. So that should place them around Hass/Alpine potentially, depending on the track layout. With some more updates on the chassis and aero side, perhaps they can squeeze enough out of the package to only be 2% behind, going into 2027.

[ispano6]

Regarding how many upgrades they can bring in a season.

​Any further deficit above 4% does not grant additional upgrade slots beyond those 2. Instead, larger performance deficits scale the financial cost cap relief and dyno test bench hours:

2% to 4%: 1 upgrade | 3M +70 dyno hours
​4% to 6% deficit: 2 upgrades | Up to $4.65M cost cap allowance + 110 dyno hours
​6% to 8% deficit: 2 upgrades | Up to $6.35M cost cap allowance +150
​8% to 10% deficit: 2 upgrades | Up to $8.0M cost cap allowance + 190 extra dyno hours
​>10% deficit: 2 upgrades | Up to $11.0M cost cap allowance + 230 extra dyno hours
​The only way a manufacturer could theoretically execute more than 2 in-season upgrades in a single year is if they carried over unused ADUO upgrade slots granted from a previous season and stacked them with a new grant.

So the motivation to be considered weak are increases in your cost cap and only 8% and slower gives you "extra" dyno hours"?

[diffuser]

There is no vibration ( imbalance or disturbancd from moving parts) accorsing to Honda. The problems was combustion "oscillations" caused by temperature. that were tuned out later in the session.

I'm not 100% what Ohihara means by this but is likely he means a sort of detonation wave or some slight exhaust backpressure or intake pressue wave causing reverberations??

Anyway they solved it and it's a moot point now because the new engine will have all new combustion chamber design.

It sounds like you are referring to the vibration issues in FP1 with the old engine. There were no vibration issues during the test with the new one.

The fix is only in the ICE they tested on Wednesday July 29th (new combustion chamber, etc). The ICE they used in FP3 and later only had whatever work arond they had came up with. Maybe the vibrations get worse with wear?