​Motorsport photoThe first months of Honda’s partnership with Aston Martin have been downright painful, but the Japanese manufacturer is now looking ahead again.Honda’s F1 project looks completely different from its glory years with Red Bull in terms of personnel, which led Honda to realise in January that the start of this new era would be problematic – even more problematic than expected, as general trackside manager and chief engineer Shintaro Orihara acknowledged.
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Honda admits it only realised the scale of its F1 problems in January
At Zandvoort, the Japanese manufacturer will introduce its first ADUO upgrade of the year, which is entirely focused on the internal combustion engine.That step is intended to bring Honda back into the “racing field” in terms of engine performance, although several more upgrades will be required to close the deficit.That development is set to continue in 2027, which is already a major focus behind the scenes.”For 2027, we have slightly different regulations for the fuel flow rate, but still our development programme is the same. We need to improve our combustion performance even further,” Orihara said during an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com.”So, we will still focus on improving the performance of our combustion engine, and we want to bring some bigger steps for that in 2027. That is our main focus point.”Besides improving the internal combustion engine, integration into the chassis is also a key priority for next yearBesides improving the internal combustion engine, integration into the chassis is also a key priority for next yearThe new engine and chassis also provide an opportunity to better integrate the Honda power unit into Adrian Newey’s design, Orihara acknowledges.At the beginning of this year, there was plenty of discussion about Newey’s alleged last-minute requests and the complexity that came with them, but with a year’s experience of working together under their belts, there are opportunities to improve the integration for next season.”We are talking closely with Aston Martin to integrate our power unit better into their new chassis. So, yes, we are now focusing on developing a good engine for 2027 and also working closely with Aston Martin behind the scenes.”Honda sets ambitious target despite difficult startHonda’s previous F1 spell also began in difficult fashion, but ultimately ended with world championships alongside Red Bull and Max Verstappen.Given the current struggles, nobody in Silverstone (Aston Martin) or Sakura (Honda) is thinking about victories yet, let alone world championships, but the past does provide some confidence that another turnaround can be achieved in the longer term.Asked about the expected timeline for reaching the competitive level Honda is targeting, Orihara revealed: “It’s difficult to say an exact time scale in Formula 1 because our performance is always relative to another competitor.”After the summer shutdown, we want to go back to