Aston Martin completes Hungaroring filming day to validate Honda’s upgraded Power Unit

Aston Martin switches focus from tyres to Honda development

While Alpine’s Franco Colapinto and Audi Formula 1 driver Gabriel Bortoleto completed a second day of Pirelli running to help finalise the 2027 tyre line-up, Aston Martin used its second filming day of the season for a different purpose at the Hungaroring.

The timing was significant. Aston Martin had introduced its B-spec AMR26 at the previous weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, bringing Adrian Newey’s technical team’s major chassis and aerodynamic developments to the 2026 car. The package immediately moved the team closer to the midfield, with Fernando Alonso reaching Q2 in qualifying for the first time this season. Alonso and Lance Stroll then finished 14th and 13th respectively.

The latest test was therefore more than a routine filming exercise. It also marked the first on-track shakedown of Honda’s long-awaited upgraded power unit, the RA626H, which benefits from a development token granted through the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities catch-up system. The run follows Honda’s planned validation programme ahead of the unit’s expected race debut at Zandvoort.

As reported in Honda’s first Aston Martin power-unit run, the test represents an important step for the partnership as it prepares the updated engine for competition.

Crawford entrusted with the shakedown

Aston Martin assigned the driving to its third driver, American Jak Crawford. That choice underlined the technical priority of the day: had the event been focused mainly on producing footage, the team’s two regular drivers would likely have been called upon instead.

Honda’s Japanese engineers worked alongside Aston Martin to compare the updated unit with the AMR26 that raced in Hungary. Although filming days permit only demo tyres, the team could still use data gathered during the grand prix as a reference for its analysis.

Positive signs before the Zandvoort debut

Initial indications suggest the run went well. Most importantly, the troublesome vibrations that affected Aston Martin at the start of the season appear to have been eliminated.

Honda is understood to be targeting the Dutch Grand Prix on 23 August for the upgraded power unit’s introduction, with a potential gain of as much as 30bhp. That would not be enough to challenge Mercedes or Red Bull-Ford, but it could become a meaningful addition to Aston Martin’s radically different car.

The combination of the B-spec AMR26 and a more effective Honda power unit may give Alonso and Stroll the final performance step required to contend for points at selected circuits after the summer break.