Honda’s Deceptive Upgrade: It Was Actually 2.5s Quicker!
Honda’s New F1 Engine Hits a Bump at the Dutch Grand Prix: What Really Happened?
What Happened at the Dutch Grand Prix?
Imagine you’ve been working on a super-fast go-kart all winter. You finally put in a brand-new, more powerful engine for the big race at Zandvoort. You’re excited… but then both your drivers get knocked out in the very first part of qualifying (SQ1).
That’s exactly what happened to Aston Martin and their engine partner Honda during the Dutch Grand Prix sprint qualifying. On paper, it looked like a disaster. But as the engineers dug into the data, the real story turned out to be much more interesting—and fixable.
IMPORTANT POINT
The poor laptimes did NOT mean the new engine is bad. One car had a mechanical failure, and the other struggled with a software tuning issue that engineers are already fixing overnight.
The Mystery of the Slow Cars
Lance Stroll (19th Place)
- Couldn’t find the extra six-tenths of a second needed to reach SQ2.
- Said after the session: “I don’t know where I could have got more time from.”
- No obvious car failure—just lacked pace.
Fernando Alonso (Last / 22nd Place)
- Had a huge lock-up at Turn 1 on his first flying lap.
- Complained on team radio: “Huge vibrations on the straights… and not from the tyres.”
- Everyone assumed the new Honda engine was shaking the car apart.
The Real Culprit: A Broken Rear Wing
It turns out Alonso’s car had a secret problem he couldn’t feel from the cockpit.
What Went Wrong?
- The rear wing’s active aero system (called “SM” or “DRS-like” system) failed.
- Normally, the wing opens on straights (low drag, high speed) and closes in corners (high downforce, better grip).
- Alonso’s wing stayed CLOSED the whole lap—even on the long straights.
The Domino Effect
| Problem | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Wing stuck closed on straights | Massive drag → 20 km/h slower at end of straight |
| Extra drag | Engine works harder → Battery drains faster |
| Less battery energy | Less electric boost → Even slower acceleration |
| Wing pushing car down more | Car bottoms out / grounds out → Feels like “vibration” |
The Numbers Don’t Lie
- 2.3 seconds slower by the time he reached Turn 1 apex.
- 15 km/h slower between Turns 10–11.
- If you add ~2.5 seconds back → Alonso would’ve been comfortably in SQ2.
IMPORTANT POINT
Alonso’s “vibration” complaint was likely the car scraping the track because the stuck wing pushed it down harder—not an engine problem at all.
The Deeper Problem: Engine “Driveability”
Even without the wing failure, both drivers felt the new Spec 2 engine wasn’t “driveable” yet.
What Is “Driveability”?
Think of it like teaching a powerful horse to listen to gentle reins.
The engine has more power, but the software telling it when and how to deliver that power isn’t smooth yet.
The Specific Issue: Throttle Mapping During Braking
- Alonso’s words: “When you brake and the throttle is open, it’s difficult to stop the car.”
- Translation: The engine keeps pushing even when the driver hits the brakes.
- Result: The car “pushes” wide (understeer) → front tyres lock up → lap ruined.
Why This Matters for 2026
- New 2026 rules require perfect energy harvesting during braking.
- If the engine fights the brakes, you lose lap time AND waste free energy.
- This is exactly what Honda must solve before 2026.
What Honda Is Doing to Fix It
Overnight Engineering Sprint
- Data download from Zandvoort → sent to HRC Sakura (Honda’s HQ in Japan).
- Dyno tests (engine test bench) running simulated laps with new software maps.
- Goal: Smooth out the “throttle-open-while-braking” behaviour.
- Target: Have updated settings ready for Saturday afternoon’s next session.
What the Boss Said
Honda Chief Engineer Shintaro Orihara:
“HRC Sakura will analyse the data overnight and perform dyno tests to optimise these parameters for the rest of the weekend.”
Driver Perspective (After Cooling Down)
Alonso later:
“Free practice felt okay… I felt a step forward. It’s very early days, probably a little bit immature on the controls. It’s a sprint weekend—on a normal weekend we’d have three practices to nail the package.”
Why This Weekend Was Extra Tricky
| Normal Weekend | Sprint Weekend (This One) |
|---|---|
| 3 practice sessions (FP1, FP2, FP3) | Only 1 practice (FP1) |
| Time to tune engine maps, aero, tyres | Qualifying starts HOURS after FP1 |
| Room to fail, learn, adjust | One shot to get it right |
Aston Martin & Honda basically had one practice session to debug a brand-new engine.
That’s like studying for a final exam with only one rehearsal class.
Summary
- Honda’s Spec 2 engine debut looked bad on paper—both Aston Martins out in SQ1.
- Alonso’s car had a broken rear wing that stayed closed → huge drag, battery drain, fake “vibration” feeling.
- Stroll had no wing issue but still lacked pace → points to engine driveability problems.
- Core issue: New engine pushes too hard during braking → lock-ups, poor corner entry, bad energy harvesting.
- Honda is already fixing it overnight with software updates and dyno testing in Japan.
- Sprint format made it worse—almost zero practice time to dial in a complex new power unit.
- Next session Saturday afternoon is the real test: can they turn the potential into pace?
FAQ
Is Honda’s new Spec 2 engine a failure?
No. The raw power is there. The problem is software calibration—teaching the engine when to deliver power smoothly. This is normal for a brand-new spec.
Why did Alonso say there were “vibrations” if it wasn’t the engine?
The stuck rear wing pushed the car down harder on straights, causing the floor to scrape the track (bottoming out). That feels like vibration—but it’s an aero/mechanical issue, not the engine.
What is “driveability” in F1?
It’s how predictable and controllable the engine power is. A driveable engine gives power exactly when the driver asks—not too early, not too late, not too suddenly.
Can they fix this before the race?
Yes. Software maps can be updated between sessions. Honda is already running dyno tests in Japan overnight to have a better map for Saturday.
Does this mean Aston Martin will be slow all weekend?
Not necessarily. If the software fix works and the rear wing issue was a one-off, they could jump up the order quickly. Sprint weekends are chaotic—one good session changes everything.