Why Honda's new F1 engine comes with fresh but expected driveability issues

Aston Martin Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso says more work is needed to optimise Honda's more powerful engine after struggling to keep his car on the track in sprint qualifying at Zandvoort.

Alonso and team-mate Lance Stroll have received the second specification of Honda's V6 power unit, with the Japanese manufacturer having earmarked the Netherlands as the site to deploy its one in-season engine upgrade this year.

The engine was shaken down during a filming day after the Hungarian Grand Prix at the end of July, but while running the new unit in anger both drivers encountered fresh driveability issues on Friday in Zandvoort.

Alonso went off in Turn 1 during SQ1, complaining of heavy vibrations from the engine before qualifying 22nd and last, three seconds off the pace. Stroll fared little better, getting ahead of both Cadillac cars but still ending the day a distant 19th.

"Free practice was more or less okay but in qualifying we had problems on the engine," Alonso reported. "Driveability was pushing on the braking, so it was difficult to stop the car sometimes because the engine was over-delivering.

"And then apparently the SLM mode [the lower drag setting on the 2026 car] didn't work for me so I could not open the rear wing. A combination of both made the laps very tricky.

"When you brake and the throttle is open, it's difficult to stop the car."

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images

Stroll similarly grappled with the behaviour of his new power unit: "We were struggling with the driveability, and there were a few other things that weren’t quite right, so we need to understand why.

"It’s really windy out there, but it’s the same for everyone. We’ll go through everything tonight, look at the data, and try to make some improvements for tomorrow.”

Honda's homework starts over

On the surface Friday's performance feels like a puzzling step backwards for Aston Martin and Honda after its huge Hungary car upgrade moved the Silverstone squad back into the heart of F1's midfield.

But Honda had already calculated that bringing the new power unit would mean that a lot of the work the Japanese brand did at the start of the season to improve its subpar driveability would have to be largely re-done for the latest specification.

"We developed our tools to optimise our driveability. We have made good progress, and we were close to what we wanted to achieve," Honda's F1 project leader Shintaro Orihara told Autosport in a wide-ranging interview.

"But when we introduce the spec 2 engine, the combustion characteristics will change. There will be a big difference.

"And then engine behaviour will be changed in the cornering phase as well, so we need to develop our driveability again."