With an improvement in power and reliability in Miami, Honda is aiming to continue the trend in Montreal.
If nothing else, the Miami weekend witnessed the first double-finish for the Aston Martins, though both finished a lap down on race winner Kimi Antonelli.
According to Honda trackside general manager and chief engineer, Shintaro Orihara the Miami result was a clear sign of progress, which the Japanese manufacturer is aiming to carry over into this weekend.
“At the Miami Grand Prix, we confirmed our battery vibration improvements and our overall power unit reliability,” he said. “It was also a key opportunity to learn on the energy management side under the updated 2026 regulations.
“This will continue in Canada,” he continued. “In Montreal, which is Lance’s home race, we will focus on enhancing the driveability and our energy management strategy to support the drivers in building more confidence. In fact, this is an important target of our race weekend.
“If we can give more confidence to the drivers in entering the corners faster and carrying more speed, then we unlock lap time,” he explained.
“Canada is another Sprint race format, making FP1 important,” he admitted. “At this event, it’s the usual 60-minutes, so it’s crucial to optimise everything during this session.
“Another characteristic is that the circuit has a long straight, so it’s vital to adjust energy deployment in this section of the lap. We also have a slow speed corner section before the back straight, but also Turns 1 and 2.
“Additionally, we have to consider possible wet conditions and cooler temperatures. This can be tricky for grip, and driveability becomes even more important with a combination of MGU-K delivery, accuracy and torque delivery accuracy.”