Honda showing "level of certainty" over Aston Martin F1 engine upgrade, says former F1 TV host

Former Formula 1 TV presenter Will Buxton believes Honda is exuding a genuine certainty that its upcoming power unit upgrade will deliver a decent step forward for Aston Martin at Zandvoort.

Aston Martin endured a difficult start to the 2026 campaign with its new power unit partnership with Honda and its first car designed under the leadership of Adrian Newey. But after introducing a B-spec car at the Hungarian Grand Prix prior to the summer break, the Silverstone outfit is now set to bring an engine upgrade for this weekend's Dutch Grand Prix.

During an episode of the Up To Speed podcast, Buxton indicated that recent statements from the Japanese engine manufacturer showed a level of certainty that it had made a good jump forward.

"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," Buxton explained.

"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, and it's something we've been saying right from the start of the year.

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing

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"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 and 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.

"So, I'm very, very excited for Aston. They've had a horrible start to the season. If the step forward in engine power can be what they hope it is, and again, that's only going to help the car itself because 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.

"They've got experience with this. They've got experience of pulling it back and getting themselves back to the front. I've just seen the quotes out of Honda today. 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."