Honda have already discovered a problem with upgraded Aston Martin engine at the factory

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Aston Martin are awaiting a Honda power unit upgrade that is forecast to arrive just after the summer break.

The team are introducing an overhauled chassis at this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, but it’s unlikely they will be able to escape Q1 until Honda address their power deficit. In a sense, these are two halves to the same upgrade.

Estimates at the start of the season suggested Honda were around 80 horsepower behind, and there’s no indication they have made major inroads into that deficit. The power unit remains unreliable, though the issue is nowhere near as severe as it was in the spring.

Are Aston Martin below ‘F1 standards’ right now, or is Guenther Steiner being unfair?

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Honda are ‘struggling’ to make Aston Martin’s new engine comply with the rules

As they work on the new power unit in their Sakura factory, Honda are ‘battling detonation problems in the combustion chamber’, according to The Race.

Remarkably, they are also struggling to comply with the fuel compression ratio limit, which was reduced from 18:1 last year to 16:1 under the new regulations.

Fans will remember the furore over compression ratios earlier in the season, with Mercedes accused of exploiting a grey area in the rules to unlock additional horsepower.

The FIA previously tested the engines at room temperature, so it was theoretically possible to break the rules on track and avoid detection, but since Monaco, they have been examining them at 130 degrees.

• READ MORE: Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll made telling gesture to Honda president on Belgian GP grid

Fortunately, Honda still have a month to remedy the situation before the Dutch Grand Prix. If necessary, they can delay the upgrade, but that would put further strain on their relationship with Aston Martin.

Honda originally planned to leave F1 before the 2026 regulations came into effect. Rival manufacturers invested more time and resources into development, and the consequences were predictable.

It has recently been claimed that Honda’s engine didn’t even ‘fit’ in Aston Martin’s chassis this winter, forcing Adrian Newey to make changes. Synergy between the partners will be crucial to the success of the upcoming upgrades.