MADRID — Honda Racing Corporation president Koji Watanabe has revealed that Honda secretly introduced its second ADUO upgrade as early as Formula 1's Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, with the upgrade focused on the power unit's turbocharger. The disclosure reframes the timeline of Honda's in-season development push alongside Aston Martin.
Aston Martin and Honda struggled from the start of the season, but their performance slightly improved after a major chassis development, according to the report. The ADUO — Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities — mechanism governs limited power unit upgrades during the season, and Watanabe confirmed the second opportunity was used in Spain to address turbocharger performance.
The early introduction in Madrid went unpublicized at the time, keeping the scope of the change under wraps. For the Honda-Aston Martin partnership, the turbocharger step represents a targeted effort to lift overall power unit efficiency after a difficult opening phase of the campaign. Watanabe's comments provide the first official confirmation of when and where the upgrade was deployed.