One update leads to another
The first step of its rebirth journey, Aston Martin completed this weekend, and the outcome was reasonably positive: the numerous updates brought by Adrian Newey’s team during the Budapest weekend allowed the English team to finally abandon the chronic last position they had occupied in recent months and to duel on par with the other teams at the bottom of the grid. Lance Stroll’s and Fernando Alonso’s two AMR26s crossed the finish line in 13th and 14th position, achieving the team’s best seasonal result with the exception of the chaotic Monaco GP where Alonso finished tenth.
Read more Tiger Eight the new SUV with a British touch
Now, the next step will be up to Honda. The Japanese giant will in fact introduce after the summer, at the Dutch GP, the new power unit evolved thanks to the concessions of the ADUO system, which should allow the team to get closer to rival teams also from the point of view of ‘horsepower’. It is no mystery that the enormous power deficit, as well as reliability, of the Japanese engines in the first half of the championship contributed to Aston Martin’s disastrous results.
Crucial test on Wednesday
The first taste of what will be the potential of the evolved engine can be seen this week already: on Wednesday, July 29, Aston Martin will be back on track in Budapest for a filming day. On this occasion, Honda will debut the new enhanced power unit, as confirmed at the end of the Hungarian race by Shintaro Orihara, Trackside General Manager and Chief Engineer of Honda.
Read more The difference between Ferrari, McLaren and Antonelli
“In Hungary, we supported the team in integrating the powertrain – Orihara declared – we also managed to collect fundamental data, which will be useful for the next race. Now we will take an important step by introducing our new-spec powertrain in the Netherlands. Before then, during Wednesday’s filming day, we will test the new engine on the AMR26 for the first time, before the start of the summer break”.
