Aston Martin sets expectations for upcoming major upgrades

Aston Martin has endured a very difficult season so far, having deliberately accepted a challenging opening half of the campaign before shifting its development focus towards the latter stages in an attempt to turn around what has so far been a year to forget.

Responding to a question from GPBlog about the engine's progress, Orihara revealed that the new power unit is already undergoing dyno testing ahead of its planned introduction in the Netherlands. While he stopped short of making any claims about its performance, he said development is progressing in line with expectations and expressed optimism about bringing the upgraded package after the summer break.

Asked whether the initial dyno data matched expectations, the Japanese engineer said the results seen so far were in line with what Honda had anticipated, with development progressing according to plan: “So far, yes. As long as understanding, the progress is good as we expected.”

Finally, when asked whether the new engine is also expected to improve drivability, Orihara explained that this remains one of the final areas of development, with Honda continuing to work on refining the way the new power unit delivers its performance before its debut: “That is still an ongoing item, so the last phase of development is to improve drivability. So we are now working hard to, how to say, get better drivability with new power.”

Aston Martin Chief Trackside Officer Mike Krack also urged caution over expectations once the car receives its chassis and power unit upgrades, stressing that the team remains a considerable distance behind both the frontrunners and the midfield. He added that the priority is to get the upgraded package on track in Hungary before making any assessment, while also pointing out the tight timelines involved in bringing everything together.

“I think we need to be careful with expectations. We are quite far away from the front, but also from the midfield. So I think we have to put the car on the ground in Hungary. First we have to see that we have everything, because the schedules are tight. We must not forget that. And then we see where we are.”