Honda's upgraded V6 landed at Zandvoort with more power and a predictable tradeoff: the driveability calibration Aston Martin spent all spring dialing in is back to square one. Fernando Alonso went off at Turn 1 in sprint qualifying after the engine over-delivered under braking, flooding the car with power when he needed to slow down. He qualified dead last, three seconds off pace. Lance Stroll fared marginally better in 19th. Both drivers reported vibrations and throttle interference that made the car nearly impossible to control under braking.
Honda saw this coming. The spec 2 unit's combustion characteristics would reset the driveability work from earlier in the season, but anticipating a problem and solving it on-track are different exercises. Aston Martin just clawed into midfield contention with its Hungary upgrade. Now it's burning practice sessions debugging a power unit while rivals bank points.
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