Honda only realized during the first test kilometers in Barcelona how far behind the new F1 power unit for Aston Martin was compared to the competition, top engineer Shintaro Orihara confirmed this week. This first shakedown revealed several reliability issues, as well as a severe lack of pace. After a disappointing first half of the season, Honda and Orihara are focused on a crucial engine upgrade during the Dutch GP in Zandvoort.
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Expectations around the collaboration between Aston Martin and Honda were high ahead of the new F1 era. With a new factory in Silverstone, Adrian Newey as technical figurehead, and a completely new power unit from Honda, the team seemed ready to make a serious leap towards the top of Formula 1. However, the start of the season went much more difficult than expected, leaving Aston Martin in the back for a long time.
Problems surfaced late
This was partly due to the deficient Honda power unit. Besides a lack of power, the manufacturer struggled with reliability issues and persistent vibrations. Speaking to Autosport, Orihara explained that the full extent of the problems only became clear at the start of the year. “At the end of last year, we were still doing reasonably well,” he admitted. “The performance and driving characteristics were still under development, but everything looked good.”
“But in January, we realized that there were fluctuations in performance in some areas,” he continued. “So we did see improvements in speed, but at the same time, the reliability of the package declined.” Because Honda prioritized reliability, the focus shifted away from pure performance. “In January, we only realized that we would not be able to compete because of this. And in Barcelona, we realized that our performance was really subpar compared to the other manufacturers. Moreover, several battery problems also came to light then.”
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Complexity of the new regulations
According to Orihara, the battery problems made the development process even more difficult because Honda and Aston Martin lost valuable test time. “So we realized that we were actually not in a good position from the start,” he sighed. “At the end of last year, we already saw that we were not competitive, but we did not expect the gap to be so large.” It was previously revealed that the rotation of engineers within Honda – a standard practice across the entire company – led to many employees who had been responsible for the success with Red Bull no longer being active within the F1 department. According to Orihara, the complexity of the new regulations and the extensive technical changes also contributed to the problems with the new power unit.
“It is difficult to say which part of the engine poses the biggest challenge because everything has changed enormously within these regulations. Just the power of the MGU-K has almost tripled. That is a significant change. On the combustion engine side, we also had to adjust the fuel flow,” he added. “With these regulations, everything has changed so drastically. It is hard to point to one component that was the biggest challenge for us; it has been the combination of all changes at once.”
Engine upgrade in Zandvoort
Honda is now focusing on a first big step forward with the upgrade introduced during the Dutch GP. This development mainly aims to address the lack of power of the combustion engine, while on the electric side, the focus is on efficiency and better driving characteristics. During a filming day at the Hungaroring, Aston Martin was already able to test drive the new power unit. The first impressions are promising.
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Read everything about the Dutch GP in Zandvoort here
