– Honda will use its revised power unit for the first time this Wednesday at an Aston Martin filming day at the Hungaroring. Originally, the debut of the new power unit was only planned for the Dutch Grand Prix after the summer break.
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The deployment comes just days after an encouraging weekend for Aston Martin at the Hungarian Grand Prix. There, the team debuted the B-specification of the AMR26 and recorded a significant performance improvement in both qualifying and the race.
The new power unit was originally intended for its race debut in Zandvoort. However, Honda has now confirmed that the new power unit will be used for the first time in the AMR26 during the filming day at the Hungaroring. The first Formula 1 weekend with the new specification will then follow from August 21st to 23rd in the Netherlands.
Filming Day serves as Dress Rehearsal for New Power Unit
“We supported the team in Hungary with the integration of the power unit. We were also able to collect important data that will help us with a view to the next race,” explains Shintaro Orihara, Trackside General Manager and Chief Engineer at Honda.
“Now we will take the important step of introducing the new specification of our power unit in the Netherlands. Before that, we will use the new engine for the first time in the AMR26 during the filming day on Wednesday, before the summer break begins,” Orihara continues.
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Aston Martin Hopes for Further Progress
Sportingly, the Hungarian weekend for Aston Martin, despite a performance improvement, still ended without points. Lance Stroll finished 13th, immediately ahead of teammate Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard also reached the second qualifying session of a Grand Prix for the first time this season. This placed Aston Martin ahead of Cadillac, Williams, and Haas.
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Alonso nevertheless sees important progress in the latest updates: “I think this was a good step forward, both in qualifying and in the race. This is a new starting point with which we can go into the second half of the season.”
“The correlation is correct and the performance gain is there, exactly as we expected. Of course, we are still at the very beginning with this new car. It is a completely new car with a new concept. Therefore, there is probably still further potential in terms of tuning, optimization, and similar areas,” the Spaniard further explains.
Looking ahead to the next Grand Prix in Zandvoort, Alonso expects additional insights from the new Honda Power Unit. The weekend should show where Aston Martin stands in comparison to its competitors after the latest updates and for which positions the team can fight in the future.
