Honda’s Trackside General Manager Shintaro Orihara has urged caution regarding immediate performance gains for Aston Martin as Formula 1 prepares for the Miami Grand Prix this weekend. The Japanese engine manufacturer has been collaborating intensively with the Silverstone team during the sport’s five-week hiatus to address the significant technical challenges that have plagued their early-season campaign.
The Honda-powered AMR26 has endured a disastrous opening to the 2026 season, managing only a single race completion across four events, including China’s Sprint race. The partnership has been battling severe reliability concerns and debilitating vibrations emanating from the power unit, which have prevented Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll from achieving consistent results on track.
Following the Japanese Grand Prix, Honda retained one of Aston Martin’s cars at their Sakura facility for extensive static testing, marking the first time such analysis had been conducted there. Orihara confirmed that while progress has been made in developing solutions to reduce vibrations and enhance reliability, fans should not anticipate dramatic improvements in Miami. “We have made some progress, allowing us to implement further countermeasures in Miami and later in the season,” Orihara stated. “Realistically, this progress will not have a visible impact on the power unit performance on track, so we shouldn’t be expecting big jumps forward here.”
The Miami circuit presents unique challenges as the first venue on the 2026 calendar featuring numerous slow-speed corners, combined with two extended full-throttle sections. Orihara emphasized that optimizing energy management and driveability through the technical sectors will be crucial for maximizing performance. The weekend’s Sprint format, featuring just one 90-minute practice session, adds additional pressure to gather essential data under the sport’s new regulations while managing power unit temperatures in Miami’s warm conditions.