Honda outline Italian GP priority ahead of 'realistic' test

Honda has outlined its primary focus for the Italian Grand Prix this weekend as it gets its upgraded power unit back on track at Monza.

The Japanese manufacturer finally unveiled its new engine last time out at Zandvoort as it continues to make progress following its difficult start to the new season.

Its upgraded power unit came shortly after Aston Martin introduced a substantially modified package of its own.

Having lifted itself off the bottom of the standings, Aston Martin-Honda is seeking to get involved in regular contention for the point-scoring results.

However, with Monza being heavily reliant on strong straight-line speed, Honda insisted it must be “realistic” about the weekend ahead.

“Monza is a unique circuit with one of the highest full-throttle ratios on the 2026 calendar, with its long straights and only 11 corners,” said Honda's chief F1 engineer Shintaro Orihara. 

“At this track, how you distribute the limited energy across these sections becomes crucial, and this is especially amplified in qualifying.

“The lap times at Monza are highly sensitive to power. With the introduction of our spec 2 engine in Zandvoort, we have made a step forward in terms of performance, but we need to be realistic about the upcoming weekend as we know that we are still behind our competitors in terms of overall power.”

Aston Martin managed to get itself into the points last time out in the Netherlands, with Fernando Alonso crossing the line in ninth place.

However, Honda has suggested it will not be focusing primarily on the results at Monza as it looks to improve the drivability of its engine.

“Our key focus at the Italian Grand Prix is to improve driveability,” Orihara said. 

“Since the Dutch Grand Prix, we have been working a lot on the dyno at HRC Sakura to improve this and, specifically, to achieve stable and consistent combustion control.

“At Monza, we will be confirming the effect of that work and carrying out further tuning, which will give us more competitiveness in the coming races.”