The Decisive Turning Point
The Aston Martin Honda could be one step away from a crucial turning point not only for the current Formula 1 season but also for its future in the Circus. The Zandvoort weekend will see the debut of the new, highly anticipated Honda power unit that must remedy the disastrous V6 presented at the start of the year by the Japanese giant. The new hybrid engine obviously benefits from the updates made available by the ADUO program, which sparked much discussion in recent months due to the ranking that saw Red Bull ahead of Mercedes in thermal engine performance but on one point brought everyone to agreement: the need to allow Honda to get closer to the competition.
After the aerodynamic updates introduced in Hungary that allowed Aston Martin to go from being a moving chicane on track to the role of seventh-eighth force, the hope is that this horsepower step can concretely bring Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll closer to the first half of the starting grid, perhaps allowing an entry into Q3 for the Silverstone cars. A possible problem in evaluating the new Honda power unit will be given by the characteristics of the Zandvoort track – slow and twisty – and the type of weekend that will be experienced in the Netherlands, with only one free practice session and the Sprint.
Orihara does not hide: “Fundamental stage”
“The Dutch Grand Prix represents a fundamental stage for Honda, as it is here that we will present our new power unit. It is the result of an intense period of hard work at HRC in Sakura, in collaboration with HRC UK and Aston Martin – said Shintaro Orihara, Trackside General Manager and Chief Engineer of Honda – At Zandvoort there will be a Sprint weekend, which means we will have only one free practice session. This will be an additional challenge to complete the evaluation of our new package in such limited track time, but it is a test we look forward to facing”.
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“In Hungary we took a step forward with the new chassis – Orihara concluded – with the introduction of the new power unit specification we look forward to consolidating these improvements together with the team throughout the rest of the season.”
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