Why Honda will just use one of its two upgrade opportunities in F1 2026

Aston Martin Formula 1 power unit partner Honda says it will just bring one power unit improvement for this year despite being afforded two upgrade tokens.

For the brand-new 2026 power units, F1's governing body the FIA devised an upgrade scheme called ADUO (Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities), which grants manufacturers additional dyno hours and cost cap allowance on a sliding scale, based on how far off the benchmark their V6 engine is.

Red Bull-Ford Powertrains was deemed the benchmark at the first measuring point after the Canadian Grand Prix, with Honda one of several manufacturers over 4% behind on V6 power. That gives Honda two upgrade opportunities to revamp its entire power unit this season, and another two tokens for 2027.

But Honda, which has several pain points to address regarding the performance, weight and reliability of its 2026 power unit, has decided to stick to just one engine update for this year, which it is hoping to deploy either shortly before or after the August summer break, effectively leaving a second opportunity on the table.

"We are planning to introduce a new engine around summer. Then I don't think we have another step in this year," said Shintaro Orihara, Honda's trackside general manager and chief engineer.

Autosport understands Honda has established two separate groups for its 2026 and 2027 engine projects at its Sakura plant in Japan. So, while one group is working on the ADUO upgraded power unit for August, the other group of engineers is full steam ahead making sure Honda cuts a much more competitive figure at the start of next year.

Shintaro Orihara, Trackside General Manager and Chief Engineer of Honda Racing Corporation

Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images

Orihara cautioned the engine updates would not work miracles, but is confident the Japanese marque can make a healthy amount of progress. "We just focus on bringing a reasonable step around summer. We have a lot of races to complete," he said.

"I would say there is not a small step, but not a miracle [either]. But we are working hard to bring some reasonable steps. Maybe before summer shutdown or after summer shutdown."

Audi and Ferrari had already anticipated the expected ADUO assistance, which was revealed to the teams by the FIA over the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, to introduce a first batch of engine upgrades in Barcelona and Austria respectively. But Honda has stuck to its plan of one bigger mid-season upgrade.

"I think they have their own project, and Honda has our own project," Orahiara said when asked if he was surprised by Audi's swift upgrade rollout. "We focus on our project. We take a big risk to improve our performance. That's why we focus on bringing the steps around summer rather than bringing this event or last event. So, we just focus on our plan."

The new power unit is expected to coincide with a significant aero upgrade from Aston Martin, though chief trackside engineer Mike Krack said the engine and car upgrade will arrive whenever each has been signed off.

"I think they are not depending on each other," Krack said. "Everyone is flat out because we want to get the maximum out of it. So you always push the deadlines as much as you can and we will bring it as soon as it is ready."

Honda Racing team members on the grid.

Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images

Until then, Aston Martin is expected to languish at the bottom of the grid, having been out-developed by newcomer Cadillac in recent races. Aston has managed to score one point with Fernando Alonso in Monaco, benefiting from a raft of controversial pitlane speeding penalties that demoted Mercedes' George Russell out of the top 10, and penalised Cadillac's Sergio Perez.