In the second half of the Formula 1 season, one brand will have all eyes on it. Honda unveils a new engine in Zandvoort, and the project’s chief engineer, Shintaro Orihara, has granted Motorsport an interview in which he did not shy away from the big topics: they expect to be fighting for points and to have the best engine by the end of 2027.
Honda predicts that with the new engine and more aerodynamic upgrades from Aston Martin that will arrive in Zandvoort, Fernando Alonso will already be able to fight for points. But the Japanese engineer goes further and confirms that by 2028 Honda has set as an unavoidable objective to have the reference engine in Formula 1.
Honda predicts that Alonso will be able to fight for points from Zandvoort
Aston Martin headed into the summer break of Formula 1 with very good feelings. The nearly new car that Adrian Newey unveiled in Hungary performed even better than expected, pushing Alonso to be racing much higher than in previous races. Now the cherry on top remains: the Honda engine arriving in Zandvoort.
Orihara, the chief engineer of Honda, has given an interview in which he expressed enthusiasm for what lies ahead. So much so that the Japanese sets “fighting for points” as a realistic objective for Zandvoort, especially if we combine Honda’s new engine with the aerodynamic upgrades that Newey already has prepared.
Recall that right after the Hungarian Grand Prix, before the break, Honda was able to put its new engine on track in a 200 km filming day at the Hungaroring, and the data obtained from that test were satisfactory. Honda is so enthusiastic that they are already making very optimistic long-term plans.
According to Orihara, “at the beginning of 2027 we may not yet have the best engine, but we will be closer to the reference power unit.” In other words, Honda envisions a scenario in which Newey’s aerodynamic genius could offset some of the mechanical delay at the start of the next season.
But Orihara’s challenge is even greater, because Honda’s chief engineer states that “then we will keep pushing hard to be the reference competitor by the end of 2027 or 2028“. Honda confirms that they will not actually alter their development roadmap despite the slight change in the power-unit allocation for next year.
Words from Honda’s top executive that should push Alonso to renew with Aston Martin. Now they remain to be substantiated by on-track results.
Images | Honda
