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Fox Sports, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every practice, qualifying session and race in the 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship\u2122 LIVE in 4K. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n The petrol engine nominally contributes around 450 kilowatts, meaning the Honda motor is around 36 kilowatts down on the Red Bull Powertrains benchmark.<\/p>\n Though Aston Martin\u2019s troubled car was gradually revealed to be responsible for at least half the team\u2019s overall performance deficit, a significant upgrade in Hungary moved the car from a distant last into the lower reaches of the midfield, with two more step due after the mid-season break.<\/p>\n The improvement has turned the spotlight back on Honda<\/a>, which confirmed before the break that it would use only one of its two concessional upgrade opportunities this year before it focuses on a larger overhaul for 2027.<\/p>\n That sole upgrade was brought to post-Hungary test as a sort of shakedown before its introduction at the Dutch Grand Prix later this month.<\/p>\n In-season tests aren\u2019t typically timed, with no data publicly available, but speculation suggested Honda had demonstrated a significant gain. Some rumours even suggested it had found almost all of its approximate 36-kilowatt deficit.<\/p>\n But though he wouldn\u2019t be drawn on any specific numbers, Honda trackside general manager and chief engineer Shintaro Orihara played down those reports.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to have that number, but that is a quite big number,\u201d he said, per Planet F1.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t describe the detail of power, but my feeling with that is just: no.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think [so] \u2014 not the real number.\u201d<\/p>\n Autosport has reported the number could be closer 22 kilowatts.<\/p>\n PIT TALK PODCAST: Who are the top 10 drivers in Formula 1 at the midseason break \u2014 and who didn\u2019t make the cut? | Listen to Pit Talk here ><\/a><\/p>\n Orihara said that the Hungary test would allow both Honda and Aston Martin to hit the ground running in Zandvoort, where the sprint format means they\u2019ll have only one hour of free practice.<\/p>\n \u201cDefinitely we can learn something before we introduce new power unit,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is a positive point for us.<\/p>\n \u201cThe main target is to gather as much as possible the data from [Hungary] before we introduce the new power unit.\u201d<\/p>\n But even a smaller gain could see the Honda engine pitched into the mix with several rivals, with both Audi and Ferrari having also been deemed to be more than 4 per cent down on power \u2014 though both have since introduced upgrades.<\/p>\n Audi and Haas (Ferrari) are both in the midfield mix that Aston Martin could be competing in during the second half of the season.<\/p>\n Mercedes \u2014 despite itself believing it has the best overall power unit \u2014 was deemed to be between 2 and 4 per cent down on the benchmark. Alpine, further ahead in the midfield, is powered by Mercedes. Aston Martin appears to have already jumped Mercedes customer Williams.<\/p>\n A small gain would also translate into a significant performance boost given the way the hybrid power unit works.<\/p>\n The more powerful the petrol engine, the more effective the hybrid components because the electronics will be required to do less of the heavy lifting, with less \u2018filling in\u2019 of the power curve.<\/p>\n Further, the faster a car is propelled by the petrol motor, the more energy can be recovered by the hybrid engine.<\/p>\n More petrol power would also leave the car slightly less down on power overall when the car \u2018super clips\u2019 \u2014 that is, effectively turns the combustion motor into a generator.<\/p>\n The FIA concession mechanism doesn\u2019t account for differences in hybrid performance, as was the preference of the engine manufacturers when the rules were being written.<\/p>\n This means Honda\u2019s power unit was realistically more severely down on power than the estimated 36-kilowatt difference, but it also means it stands to gain more for every kilowatt it squeezes from its combustion engine.<\/p>\n Further, though upgrade concessions are doled out based on combustion power, manufacturers can update practically their entire power unit, including the hybrid components, with each upgrade.<\/p>\n Kostecki talks role as Shell team leader | 07:01<\/p>\n BRUNDLE: CARLOS SAINZ DOWN A CAREER \u2018CUL-DE-SAC\u2019<\/p>\n Carlos Sainz\u2019s career is \u201cstalling\u201d at Williams, according to F1 pundit Martin Brundle, as the Spaniard considers his options for 2027.<\/p>\n Sainz found himself without frontrunning option when he was pushed out of his plum Ferrari seat by Lewis Hamilton at the end of 2024. Faced with a choice between Alpine, Audi and Williams, he chose the latter based on a pitch by team boss James Vowles that the historic but long-struggling team already had the building blocks in place to rise through the field in 2026.<\/p>\n The team overperformed last year, moving from ninth to a comfortable fifth at the head of the midfield, and Sainz picked up a pair of unlikely podiums, in Azerbaijan and Qatar, to appear to validate the promise.<\/p>\n But Williams has precipitously slid down the order this year after development problems during the off-season led to the car arriving late, overweight and slow, and it has slipped gradually backwards through the year.<\/p>\n Though a big upgrade is due in Azerbaijan later this season, the team also appears resigned to having been jumped by Aston Martin<\/a>, which could leave it 10th in the pecking order and the championship ahead of only Cadillac.<\/p>\n Both Sainz and Alex Albon are out of contract this year, but the driver market has seized as it waits for Max Verstappen to quit or commit to Red Bull Racing next season<\/a>, leaving both drivers in limbo.<\/p>\n Even then, however, there would appear to be few options for the 31-year-old, with Audi looking likely to keep its line-up unchanged, Alpine appearing to favour Franco Colaptino and Aston Martin working hard to re-sign Fernando Alonso.<\/p>\n \u201cI would imagine Carlos is keeping his options open,\u201d Brundle told Sky Sports. \u201cIt is frustrating. He\u2019s stalling out at a time in his career and life that is not optimal, to say the least.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s had some brilliant races in a Ferrari. I think he\u2019s ended up down a cul-de-sac here. So hopefully Williams has an answer for 2027.\u201d<\/p>\n Brundle suggested Williams had some fundamental problems to overcome before it could restore Sainz\u2019s faith in the project.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s quite clear \u2014 I think McLaren found this and other teams found this \u2014 [is] maybe what you were learning with the previous four seasons of ground effects cars, things you thought you knew about how to be fast in a Formula 1 car are not working on these cars.<\/p>\n \u201cAll in all, they can only be disappointed. When you look at their results in qualifying and in the race, there\u2019s a lot of double digits. They\u2019re always in the teens, and I think that sums up their season so far.\u201d<\/p>\n Payne overcomes damage to beat Broc | 02:17<\/p>\n P\u00c9REZ ADMITS TO PRE-SEASON DOUBTS OVER F1 COMEBACK<\/p>\n Sergio P\u00e9rez has admitted he had doubts over whether he could still cut it in Formula 1 before committing to a comeback with Cadillac this season.<\/p>\n P\u00e9rez, a six-time grand prix winner, was sacked by Red Bull Racing at the end of 2024 after a difficult campaign that saw the team slip to third in the constructors championship<\/a> just one year after setting records for domination.<\/p>\n His ousting<\/a> came after the end of the season, leaving him without a seat, and P\u00e9rez left his future ambiguous after 281 grand prix starts.<\/p>\n That experience proved crucial to his comeback, with Cadillac seeking veterans for its inaugural line-up to help boost its preparedness to enter F1 this season<\/a>.<\/p>\n But P\u00e9rez admitted to <\/a>Racer<\/a> that the messy end to his Red Bull Racing career left him uncertain whether he was ready or able to return.<\/p>\n \u201cI had some doubts about coming back, but I\u2019m really happy I came back, because I managed to prove to myself that I\u2019m still one of the best,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI was just a little bit burnt with the sport, how unfair the sport can be at times, and I felt like probably it was time to move on.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I decided to come back, I found a great challenge and I\u2019m happy I did.\u201d<\/p>\n P\u00e9rez has led the way for Cadillac this season, particularly early in the campaign, when he appeared to hold a decisive advantage over teammate Valtteri Bottas, though the gap has shrunk in recent races.<\/p>\n His performances have been good enough for reported interest from other teams despite the Mexican holding a contract through to the end of next season.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I\u2019ve been performing at a very high level,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think people that understand the sport, it\u2019s easy for them to understand what level of performance I\u2019m getting out of my car. In Formula 1, that\u2019s the most important, and I\u2019m pleased with the level that I\u2019m driving at at the moment.<\/p>\n \u201cThat [interest] has been nice to see. I think always when you\u2019re performing, your value goes up.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, there could be some movements around and stuff, but for me, the main thing is to see what\u2019s going to happen here in the next coming months. I want to see this challenge moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Honda has played down reports of a big power gain from its sole engine upgrade of the season…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":849813,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,813,816,85],"class_list":["post-849812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=849812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849812\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/849813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=849812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=849812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=849812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}