Honda signals engine breakthrough as Aston Martin targets Dutch GP revival

Honda is projecting what former Formula 1 TV presenter Will Buxton describes as a “level of certainty” that its upcoming power unit upgrade will meaningfully improve Aston Martin’s pace at this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort.

Aston Martin endured a troubled start to the 2026 season, with its new Honda power unit partnership and the first car built under Adrian Newey’s leadership failing to deliver the expected results. The Silverstone outfit introduced a B-spec car at the Hungarian Grand Prix before the summer break and is now set to follow that with an engine upgrade at Zandvoort.

Speaking on the Up To Speed podcast, Buxton pointed to recent statements from Honda as evidence that the Japanese manufacturer believes it has made a genuine performance leap. “I’ve just seen the quotes out of Honda today,” he said. “It feels like a… I wouldn’t say a quiet confidence, but there’s certainly a level of certainty that they’ve made a pretty advanced step forward.”

Buxton was also optimistic that Aston Martin had not yet extracted the full potential from its B-spec package. “Aston did a great job with that upgrade package and they won’t have maximised that over the course of one race weekend into the absolute perfect package,” he said. “There’s still going to be a lot of time for them to find in that as they refine it, and then they get this engine upgrade.”

The former presenter drew parallels with Honda’s previous return to Formula 1 as a McLaren supplier — a partnership that began poorly before ultimately producing championship-winning machinery. “The disappointment with the Honda engine had shadows of what happened the last time Honda re-entered the sport with McLaren and how difficult they found it,” Buxton said. “But let’s not forget that Honda developed that engine to a place where it was the power unit of choice that brought home world championships. Honda may start off a little bit behind the curve, but when they get on it, there are few engine manufacturers who can compete with them.”

Buxton added that an engine performance gain would have a compounding effect on the car’s overall competitiveness. “If the car’s not going as fast as it should, then the aero is not going to work as well as it should either,” he noted, suggesting that improved straight-line speed could unlock aerodynamic gains that have so far been masked by the power deficit.