Honda views the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps as a pivotal stage to assess the performance and reliability of its current power unit ahead of the arrival of Aston Martin’s new internal combustion engine, scheduled for the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on August 23.
Developed within the FIA’s Additional Development and Update Opportunities (ADUO) framework, the first update to the Japanese manufacturer’s combustion engine will be introduced after the summer break. Until then, Honda and Aston Martin will have Belgium and Hungary rounds to refine the understanding of how the current hardware behaves.
Shintaro Orihara, Honda’s track general manager and chief engineer, highlighted that Spa’s characteristics make the circuit a major challenge for drivers and engineers:
“Spa hosts the longest circuit on the 2026 calendar, and it is also one of the most popular among drivers and fans. It is a technical circuit for the drivers, with sections of complex corners,” he said. “The combination of long straights and high-speed corners makes the circuit very challenging for engineers as well, both to predict throttle application and to analyze energy distribution over the lap.”
According to Orihara, energy management will be one of the main points of focus during the weekend. “It will be a test for the manufacturers in terms of energy management, so we need to consider how we will distribute the MGU-K power on the long straights. Energy recovery here is quite limited, even considering the length of the circuit. This places more emphasis on getting the distribution plan right. The straights also demand a lot from the power unit in general, not only for performance but also for reliability.”
The partnership between Honda and Aston Martin had a rocky start to the season. The team had only one point in the first nine rounds, earned by Fernando Alonso with 10th place in Monaco.
Additionally, the Japanese power unit endured severe vibration issues that damaged batteries and components, forcing the team to operate with more conservative engine modes. As a result, Alonso and Lance Stroll faced difficulties in pursuing positions on the grid.
