Honda reveal crucial target date for major engine upgrade

Honda's trackside general manager and chief engineer, Shintaro Orihara, has confirmed that the Japanese manufacturer is targeting the Dutch Grand Prix for the introduction of its new power unit.

Previously, Honda had simply stated that it would be introduced at some stage during the summer; however, an official target has now been revealed.

The goal is for Aston Martin to have the new engine ready for Formula 1's final visit to Zandvoort at the end of August, which marks the first race after the summer break.

This means it will be introduced after the Silverstone-based outfit's chassis upgrade, which will be fitted to the AMR26 for the final race before the summer break – the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Asked when Honda plans to introduce its new power unit, Orihara initially joked to select media, including RacingNews365: "I kept saying summer; maybe that's a boring answer. So, I'll say our target is the Netherlands.

"So, we are working hard to complete our job list to achieve bringing a new power unit to the Netherlands. That's our target."

In addition to confirming when Honda plans to introduce its much-needed new power unit, Orihara has outlined exactly what the upgrade will feature.

Performance gains are the priority for the Japanese marque, while recognising that durability cannot be ignored.

Discussing whether the changes to the power unit will require installation modifications or have been made internally, Orihara explained: "Yeah, our priority is to focus internally. Our focus is to improve engine performance. 

"So, we are working on the combustion chamber shape, and we are also modifying the chamber. We will change the combustion chamber shape to improve our combustion performance. We are also working to reduce friction by modifying our lubrication system. 

"That is what we are working on now, and, of course, we are also trying to improve durability because, if we increase performance, we need to increase durability. We still haven't quite completed it [the engine], but we are working hard to achieve this by the Netherlands."