Honda confirm early debut of upgraded F1 power unit

Honda will introduce its upgraded F1 power unit at an Aston Martin filming day on Wednesday at the Hungaroring, the Japanese manufacturer has confirmed.

The move comes after a torrid 2026 campaign thus far for Honda, whose engine has been plagued by a lack of performance and fragile reliability.

Under F1's sporting regulations, teams are permitted two filming days per season, limited to 200 km of running on special Pirelli demonstration tyres. The car must be run in a previously used specification, meaning teams cannot treat filming days as full development tests, but they can gather systems data and verify basic integration.

The early outing will give Honda a valuable opportunity to collect data ahead of the upgraded power unit's grand prix weekend debut at the Dutch Grand Prix next month. 

"In Hungary, we have been supporting the team with the power unit integration,” said Honda chief engineer Shintaro Orihara. 

“We've also been able to collect vital data, which will help us come the next race. We will now take the important step of introducing our new-spec power unit in the Netherlands.

"Before then, during Wednesday's filming day, we will run the new engine in the AMR26 for the first time, before the summer shutdown commences."

The Honda upgrade follows Aston Martin's own substantial chassis upgrade at the Hungarian Grand Prix, a B-spec AMR26 estimated to be worth roughly two seconds per lap.

That package delivered immediate results, with Fernando Alonso reaching Q2 for the first time all season before finishing P14, while Lance Stroll came home P13. 

Wednesday's filming day will offer an early insight into how well the revised chassis and new power unit work together.

"That is a good opportunity to check how our new engine works on the chassis,” Orihara added.