(Motorsport-Total.com) – Aston Martin brought the highly anticipated major vehicle update to the start at the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix. The further development of the AMR26, practically referred to as B-Spec, is intended to make the team more competitive again after a disappointing first half of the season.
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The team considers the qualifying result an important success. Fernando Alonso reached Q2 for the first time in a long time, finishing 16th. Although the Spaniard was still about 2.4 seconds off the best time in the second qualifying segment, the comparison with Belgium clearly shows the progress: there, Aston Martin was already more than four seconds behind in Q1. The gap to the top could therefore be significantly reduced.
Above all, however, Alonso believes that the new car is far from reaching the end of its development. For the two-time world champion, the biggest plus currently is not the pure lap time, but the certainty that the development concept apparently works.
Alonso: “No nasty surprise”
Alonso describes the fact that the update fundamentally met expectations as the most important aspect of the entire weekend. “When you bring a new car, it’s always important that the correlation is right and the package delivers exactly what you expect,” explains the Spaniard. “Even if it’s exactly what we expected, it was important that there were no nasty surprises.”
Because precisely this risk always exists with extensive vehicle upgrades. Wind tunnel, simulation and racetrack do not necessarily match. At Aston Martin, this alignment seems to have been successful this time. Nevertheless, Alonso emphasizes that the team has so far only partially understood the potential of the new car.
“We learned something in every session. Even after qualifying, we learned something new about the car’s balance. If we had another session now, we would probably change the set-up again.”
“We are not yet at the level of the package”
For Alonso, Aston Martin is still in the middle of the learning phase. However, this is completely normal given the extent of the changes. “We are far from where the package could actually be,” he says. “I believe there is significantly more potential in the car.”
The work was additionally complicated by the limited training scope. After Lance Stroll lost valuable driving time on Friday, the team lacks important comparative data. “Unfortunately, we also lost a car in practice yesterday. As a result, we simply lack experience with the new parts.”
This makes the tuning work much more complicated. Especially with such a profound update, engineers normally collect as much data as possible to find the optimal vehicle setup.
More downforce – and a significantly more good-natured car
Alonso, on the other hand, does not feel any serious changes in driving behavior. The basic characteristics have remained similar. “The car drives more or less like before,” he explains. “We simply have more downforce and overall more grip.”
This pays off especially in fast corners. “The car has become a bit more consistent throughout the entire corner. When turning in, at the apex and at the corner exit, it’s simply a bit more forgiving.” Alonso sees one of the biggest advances precisely in this. “The previous car was more difficult to drive.”
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More downforce therefore not only means higher cornering speeds, but also makes it easier for drivers to consistently push to the limit. More important than the position: The team has a direction again. For Alonso, the value of the update goes far beyond the pure qualifying result anyway.
“It was incredibly important for everyone in the team.” The Spaniard recalls how difficult the first half of the season had been. “They were tough months in both factories. We had a big performance deficit.” Although the new package had not yet brought huge jumps in the starting grid on paper, it had an enormous internal impact.
“It may not have changed many positions, but it completely changed the mood in the team.” Above all, Aston Martin now finally has clarity. “We are no longer chasing something that we don’t even know exactly what it is. Now we know exactly what we are looking for.”
These insights are crucial for the next development steps. We know the goals for the next update and we know the goals for next year’s car. That’s the biggest change of this weekend for me.”
Stroll: “We simply need everything”
While Alonso at least reached Q2, Lance Stroll was eliminated in the first qualifying segment. However, the Canadian had significantly less driving time available after practically losing two sessions on Friday.
“Yesterday was very expensive,” says Stroll about the training deficit. Nevertheless, he also saw clear progress. “We definitely have more downforce.” Stroll now identifies the decisive deficit elsewhere. “I think we simply lack a lot of engine power.”
That is now obvious. “It’s no secret that we lack power. We are doing everything we can.” Especially at the Hungaroring, where engine power traditionally plays a less significant role than on many other tracks, this is remarkable. On the upcoming high-speed tracks, this deficit is likely to become even more apparent.
Mysterious excursion into Turn 12
His Q1 lap was additionally ended by an unexpected incident. “We were about half a second faster on the last lap,” reports Stroll. Then a strong tailwind gust in Turn 12 surprised the car. “We had about ten km/h tailwind and suddenly the car simply didn’t want to turn in anymore.”
The Aston Martin shot straight into the gravel trap. “That was really annoying. I think we could have reached Q2 today.” Nevertheless, Stroll also evaluates the overall package positively. “We have made a big step in downforce.”
However, the work is far from finished. “We simply need everything. We need the engine power of the others. We have to keep finding downforce. And we have to improve the balance.” Because despite the progress, there are still significant weaknesses. “We still have many problems with handling.”
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