'We are in this together': Silverstone’s Aston Martin F1 Team to debut updated Honda power unit at Dutch Grand Prix
The Silverstone-based Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 Team are set to debut their updated Honda power unit at the upcoming Dutch Grand Prix on August 23.
Aston Martin, 10th in the constructors’ standings with just one point, have experienced dramatic struggles for performance throughout the first half of the 2026 season.
From mid-corner understeer to poor suspension compliance, gearbox downshift bugs and severe engine vibrations, Aston Martin have fallen well below expectations under legendary designer Adrian Newey.
The recent Hungarian Grand Prix saw a huge improvement to the aerodynamics and chassis on the AMR26 as Fernando Alonso achieved the team’s first Q2 progression.
That was as a result of a total of 16 updates to the car, introduced after plenty of patience and hard work behind the scenes throughout previous rounds on the calendar.
It’s hoped the revised Honda engine’s introduction, coupled with the previous updates, will propel Aston Martin up the grid, though there are no guarantees.
Tested during a filming day at the Hungaroring just before the summer shutdown commenced, the power unit was first implemented into the AMR26 on Wednesday, July 29.
Aston Martin’s chief trackside officer, Mike Krack, recently explained - via formula1.com - how the team and Honda have improved their working relationship to get to this point.
“It’s easy to point the finger, but we sat together and we said, ‘We are in this together. We need to work hard to get out of it together’,” Krack said.
“We knew that there would be a lot of difficult moments. We had more than one meeting where we discussed this, and I think it improved the relationship big time – in the garage, in the engineering office, and also in the whole technical collaboration between [the Aston Martin factory] in Silverstone and [Honda’s headquarters in] Sakura.”
Krack added: “Believe me, it was tough, but it is something that you have to go through, and then you improve from there.
“I think we need to be grown up, we need be professional in such situations, and we need to get ourselves out of it.
“If we manage to be in the game again very soon, then I think we can maybe sit together, look back at these last six months, and take all the positives that we learned.”