本田F1动力单元升级前瞻：阿斯顿·马丁期待性能提升
本田将在赞德福特站带来2026赛季首个动力单元升级，完全聚焦内燃机性能；首席工程师折原慎太郎坦言引擎性能是本田相较对手的最大短板，同时新规格将带来驾驶性方面的全新挑战。
本田期待已久的F1动力单元升级有哪些看点
首席工程师折原慎太郎解释说，本田F1动力单元升级的重点完全在内燃机上。随着本田新引擎规格的引入，驾驶性将再次成为一个重要因素。
阿斯顿·马丁在匈牙利站为AMR26引入了首个重大升级包，而本田将在赞德福特站带来2026年F1赛季的首次升级。
随着阿德里安·纽维今年的首个升级包，底盘方面的差距已大幅缩小。阿斯顿·马丁距离其目标仍有很长的路要走，但Paceteq的数据显示，其在匈牙利站的正赛速度差距“仅”为每圈2.034秒。
在此前的银石和斯帕两个比赛周末，这一差距仍超过每圈5秒，不过有两点重要的说明。首先，这两条标志性赛道都长得多，而匈牙利赛道对动力单元性能的依赖也较小。
后者仍是阿斯顿·马丁的弱点，尽管本田希望凭借今年首个ADUO升级，在下半赛季开始时向前迈进一步。
该升级完全聚焦于内燃机，赛道现场总经理兼首席工程师折原慎太郎仍认为这是本田相较竞争对手的最大弱点。
“与其他制造商相比，我们的引擎性能肯定很差。所以现在最重要的改进点可能就是我们的引擎性能，因为正如我提到的，差距相当大。”
折原慎太郎，本田赛车公司赛道现场总经理兼首席工程师
“如果不提升内燃机性能，[其他方面都无济于事]。比如说，即使我们改进了能量管理，如果引擎性能很差，那也没用，”折原在接受Autosport独家采访时解释道。
“所以现在我们纯粹专注于提升引擎性能。一旦我们在那里达到目标，也许就可以优化其他一些小领域。但我们的主要关注点仍然是引擎性能，即内燃机。”
本田知道，缩小绝对动力方面的差距需要时间，这意味着在第一步之后还需要进一步的升级——一些最乐观的估计认为可提升最多30马力。
当被问及赞德福特升级的具体目标时，折原概述了一个与阿斯顿·马丁在匈牙利站类似的目标：回到所谓的“赛车场”。
这在底盘方面已经实现，但折原强调，动力单元方面也需要做到同样的事情。
“我们的目标是回到赛车场，回到这样一种状态：我们每个周末努力寻找的10毫秒或20毫秒，能够真正产生差异。”
本田新引擎面临新的驾驶性挑战
由于动力单元正在经历重大变化，赞德福特升级也带来了另一个问号。它涉及本赛季头几个月经常讨论的一个术语：驾驶性，即车手从动力单元中获得的感受。
“我们开发了工具来优化驾驶性。我们取得了良好进展，已经接近我们想要达到的目标，”折原说。
“但当我们引入规格2引擎时，燃烧特性将发生显著变化。嗯，也许不是显著，但会有很大不同。
“而且引擎在弯道阶段的行为也会改变。所以，是的，我们需要重新开发驾驶性。”
这与阿斯顿·马丁在底盘方面的升级密切相关，后者也会影响动力单元的驾驶性。
“随着赛车规格的变化，弯道速度将高得多。然后对驾驶性的要求也会改变。”
听起来本田将面临与今年年初相同的驾驶性挑战，但折原强调，这家日本制造商在任何情况下都不会回到原点。毕竟，学到的经验仍可应用于新规格。
“在上半赛季取得了很大进展。我们开发出了优化的[驾驶性]方法，”他说。
“我们将引入新引擎，可能还需要做更多工作来再次改善驾驶性，但现在我们知道该怎么做，以及应该在哪里改进。
“这是一大收获，我们可以把这一经验延续到我们的B规格引擎上。”
部分由于这一方面——驾驶性的工作——阿斯顿·马丁最近在匈牙利赛道用新动力单元进行的拍摄日如此重要。它已经为双方提供了一些初步数据可供分析，帮助他们在赞德福特避免不愉快的意外。
英文原文
What to expect from Honda's long-awaited F1 power unit upgrade
Chief engineer Shintaro Orihara explains that the focus is entirely on the internal combustion engine for Honda's F1 power unit update. Drivability will once again be an important factor with Honda's new engine specification
While Aston Martin introduced its first major upgrade package for the AMR26 in Hungary, Honda will bring its first update of the 2026 Formula 1 season to Zandvoort.
With Adrian Newey’s first upgrade package of the year, the deficit on the chassis side has been reduced considerably. Aston Martin is still a long way from where it wants to be, but figures from Paceteq show that its deficit in terms of race pace was “just” 2.034 seconds per lap in Hungary.
During the preceding weekends at Silverstone and Spa, that deficit was still more than five seconds per lap, although there are two important caveats. Firstly, both iconic circuits are much longer, while the Hungaroring is also less dependent on power unit performance.
The latter remains a weakness for Aston Martin, although Honda hopes to make a step forward at the start of the second half of the season with its first ADUO upgrade of the year.
That upgrade is entirely focused on the internal combustion engine, which general trackside manager and chief engineer Shintaro Orihara still identifies as Honda's biggest weakness compared to the competition.
"Our engine performance is definitely poor compared to other manufacturers. So probably the most important point to improve now is our engine performance because, as I mentioned, the gap is quite huge.
Shintaro Orihara, Trackside General Manager and Chief Engineer of Honda Racing Corporation
"Without improving our combustion engine performance, [the rest doesn’t help]. Let's say, if we improve energy management, that doesn't help if the engine performance is poor," Orihara explained during an exclusive interview with Autosport.
"So now we purely focus on improving our engine performance. Once we achieve our target there, then maybe we can optimise some other small areas. But still our main focus point is the engine performance, the combustion engine."
Honda knows that closing the deficit in terms of outright power will take time, meaning further upgrades will be required after this first step – with some of the most optimistic estimates suggesting a gain of up to 30bhp.
When asked about the specific target for the Zandvoort upgrade, Orihara outlines an objective similar to Aston Martin's in Hungary: getting back to what is referred to as the "racing field".
That has been achieved on the chassis side, but Orihara stresses that the same needs to happen on the power unit side.
"Our target is to get back to the racing field, to a situation where the 10 milliseconds or 20 milliseconds that we try so hard to find every weekend, can actually make a difference."
Honda faces fresh driveability challenge with new engine
Because the power unit is undergoing significant changes, the Zandvoort upgrade also brings another question mark. It concerns a term that has been discussed frequently during the opening months of this F1 season: drivability, the feeling the drivers get from the power unit.
"We developed our tools to optimise our driveability. We have made good progress and we were close to what we wanted to achieve," Orihara said.
"But when we introduce the spec 2 engine, the combustion characteristics will change significantly. Well, maybe not significantly, but there will be a big difference.
"And then engine behaviour will be changed in the cornering phase as well. So yeah, we need to develop our driveability again."
It goes hand in hand with Aston Martin's upgrades on the chassis side, which also have an impact on the drivability of the power unit.
"With the car spec changing, cornering speeds will be much higher. And then demands on driveability will be changing as well."
It sounds as though Honda will face the same drivability challenge it encountered at the start of this year, but Orihara stresses that the Japanese manufacturer will not be back to square one under any circumstances. After all, the lessons learned can still be applied to the new specification.
"There has been big progress through this first half of the season. We developed our optimised way [for drivability]," he said.
"We will introduce our new engine and probably we need [to do] more work to improve driveability again, but now we know how we need to do it and where we should improve.
"That has been a big learning, and we can carry over that learning point to our B spec engine."
It is partly because of this aspect – working on drivability – that Aston Martin's recent filming day at the Hungaroring with the new power unit was so important. It has already provided both parties with some initial data to analyse, helping them avoid unpleasant surprises at Zandvoort.
Autosport ·
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