Honda pride before the ADUO engine: “Aston Martin has never complained to us. We never gave up”

Aston Martin and Honda, what a flop

The start of the collaboration between Aston Martin and Honda was extremely complicated, with reliability issues and insufficient performance both in terms of the chassis and, above all, the power unit. The battery of the engine built in Sakura produced strong vibrations at the beginning of the season, creating the first serious problems for the AMR26 project. The rest was caused by a top speed that was not up to par, which at Spa-Francorchamps was at the level of a Formula 2.

Despite the obvious difficulties, Aston Martin maintained a constructive attitude towards the Japanese partner, avoiding tensions and focusing on finding solutions. The interaction between the two entities intensified until it became daily: the battery problem was solved, while a clear improvement in performance could come at Zandvoort. In the Netherlands, the ADUO engine will make its debut during a race weekend: it is a power unit that has already covered the first kilometers in a filming day held in Budapest three weeks ago.

Honda’s pride

After a first half of the season that caused real embarrassment to a team built to win, Honda wants to raise its head. And before the Dutch GP, the chief engineer of the HRC group Shintaro Orihara explained how the difficulties of these months have not demotivated either the Japanese or Aston Martin: “During the winter tests we went through a difficult moment. But on track, at the start of the season, our relationship was already good, thanks to Mike Krack. Aston Martin has never complained to Honda. Of course, we are professionals, so we discuss the problem and how we should react, but the team has always had respect for Honda, so our relationship has been good since the beginning of this year. We, on the other hand, have never given up, this is our spirit“.

“With the factory, at the beginning of this year communication was good and then improved further: we collaborated more closely when the battery vibration problem arose. It was a critical aspect, without countermeasures we would not have made it through the first three race weekends“, he added. “When those problems occurred, we had daily meetings between Japan, HRC and Aston Martin; every day we met to discuss what to do. Thanks to the difficult moments, our bond has strengthened. I think now our relationship is good“.

To avoid worsening relations again, the engine needs to provide a tangible boost to the AMR26’s performance. From this point of view, Zandvoort (due to the circuit layout and the nature of the Sprint format) will be a dress rehearsal ahead of Monza. At the Temple of Speed, we will finally be able to properly appreciate Aston Martin’s improvements, already glimpsed in a Hungarian GP finished in 13th and 14th place. Little, for Lawrence Stroll’s ambitions, a lot if you think about the disaster at the start of the year.

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Special helmet also for Hadjar in Zandvoort in memory of his first podium