Honda chief engineer Shintaro Orihara has confirmed that the manufacturer has two more races to run with its current spec of power unit.
Honda was permitted two extra upgrades among its Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities [ADUO] allowance after the first checks of the season, with the updated power unit set to debut after the summer break.
Honda: ‘Two more races’ before Aston Martin engine update
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Aston Martin has been hard at work behind the scenes to develop a larger upgrade package to bring mid-season, with the team having struggled towards the back of the field so far this year.
Rather than smaller, incremental updates, Adrian Newey and the Aston Martin design team are looking to bring one larger upgrade package to the AMR26 to look to address its comparative lack of pace.
While Aston Martin has confirmed the team will look to introduce its chassis upgrade before the summer break, potentially at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Honda’s latest timeline means the team is likely to have updated both its chassis and power unit by the Dutch Grand Prix in mid-August.
With this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix likely to provide the toughest test of the season so far regarding energy management, Orihara added Honda will continue to utilise its time on track to gather further information about its power unit, in the run-up to its planned upgrade being introduced.
“It will be a test for manufacturers in terms of energy management so we need to consider how we will deploy MGU-K power on the long straights,” Orihara said ahead of the weekend.
“The harvesting here is quite limited, even considering the circuit length. This puts more emphasis on getting the deployment plan right. The straights are also a demand on the power unit in general – not only for performance but also for reliability.
“We have two more races before we introduce the new engine. It’s important to keep learning with this current spec, so we can take those energy deployment findings into future races – like Monza, where we also have the long straights.
“An added unknown is the changeable weather conditions at the circuit. At Silverstone it remained dry, so Spa could be the first time where we have proper wet conditions in a session. In terms of the weather, anything can happen here.”
More about ADUO and what it could mean for Honda
What is ADUO? The FIA lifeline that could rescue Honda
FIA chief warns ADUO ‘not a magic bullet’ for underperforming F1 power unit suppliers
Aston Martin’s chief trackside officer, Mike Krack, explained that, while the likes of Ferrari has taken an incremental approach to its upgrades, the cost cap means that, despite this early spending, each team has the same limit to its resources over the course of a year.
“You go to the supermarket, and you have €100 in your pocket. You can only spend €100,” Krack said when asked how the team’s approach differs.
“If you get something for free, it is out of the hundred – so it’s the same.
“You develop your car, if you have spent your 100, you cannot spend any more.
“So you need to see when you have everything, and then one thing you must not forget is you can have crashes, so you need to keep some margin to spend your 100 euro cleverly yet towards the end.
“It is a consistent balance between development and cost of racing, basically.”
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