Fernando Alonso praised the recent evolution of his Aston Martin, describing the car’s behaviour as "much better" after the team introduced a substantial upgrade package during Friday's practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix. The British‑based outfit had entered the current season’s new technical regulations with the ambition of breaking into Formula 1’s traditional "big four" and mounting a genuine title challenge. Instead, the campaign has been plagued by a severely under‑performing Honda power unit and a chassis that, despite being overseen by the legendary Adrian Newey, has fallen short of expectations.
While rivals have rolled out multiple upgrade bundles throughout the year, Aston Martin chose to wait until the eleventh round in Budapest to unveil a single, comprehensive package comprising sixteen new components. The day was a mixed bag: Lance Stroll’s left‑rear suspension failed during the opening practice session, forcing him out of the subsequent session, but Alonso managed a relatively smooth run and left the paddock feeling optimistic.
"It was much better," Alonso explained. "The car felt more glued to the ground and easier to drive, especially when you have confidence in the grip around the corners. It’s a more predictable and manageable machine, but we still have a long way to go.
Obviously this is only the first step." The chassis upgrade arrives just before Honda is slated to deliver a major power‑unit update at the Dutch Grand Prix following the summer hiatus. Alonso added that the team must extract performance not only from the new aerodynamic and mechanical parts but also from the forthcoming engine. "Zandvoort will be a good test for us with the new engine.
Step by step, but definitely in the right direction. It looks better, for sure, and it’s essentially what we expected.
The most encouraging thing is that the concepts we had for the new package are actually translating onto the track. That kind of correlation is exactly what we need for next year’s project, so there’s a positive atmosphere in the team now." In second practice Alonso qualified 19th, sandwiched between the two 2026 newcomers from Cadillac.
A faster lap was lost when he exceeded the track‑limit boundaries, and a red‑flag interruption caused by Alpine’s Franco Colapinto further hampered his rhythm. Nevertheless, Alonso remained hopeful that additional pace could be found for Saturday’s qualifying.
"The red flag and traffic made it tricky to maximise a lap," he said. "There may be a little more to come from our side, but perhaps the same applies to everyone, so let’s see tomorrow. We focused on testing the new parts and understanding the setup direction, which could be very different from what we ran at the last few events. I think there’s more potential to unlock tonight and into tomorrow’s qualifying." Newey, who arrived at Aston Martin from Red Bull in March 2025 as the sport’s most decorated designer, admitted that his immediate aim is simply to achieve "respectability" for the team.
Speaking at a press conference between Friday’s sessions, he said: "The first races have been a complete nightmare. Hopefully we can get at least a point and some respectability now.
That is the immediate goal. From there we can try to keep moving forward." The press conference took place before Stroll’s second‑practice outing was cancelled because the team could not repair his car in time after the left‑rear suspension failure. Newey recounted how Stroll managed to avoid the barriers when the component gave way and sent him spinning late in the opening session.
The cause of the failure was initially unclear. "Everyone is feverishly trying to understand exactly what went wrong as we speak," Newey said. "Only once we have a clear picture can we decide what to do next." Newey later clarified that the broken part on Stroll’s car was not a brand‑new element; rather, it was an existing component that became problematic because it was surrounded by the fresh parts introduced in the upgrade.
"The area involved was actually not changed," he explained. "We are short on spares because the cladding and surrounding pieces are different, so there are minor changes in that zone. In that sense, it was very unexpected." Looking ahead, the weekend schedule includes a full slate of support series and the main Grand Prix events.
On Saturday, after a brief F3 sprint, the third practice session for the Hungarian GP will begin at 11:30 am, followed by the F2 sprint and the qualifying session later in the afternoon. Sunday’s program features the F3 feature race, the Porsche Supercup, the F2 feature race, and finally the Hungarian Grand Prix itself, with live coverage on Sky Sports F1 and streaming options via NOW. Overall, the upgrade appears to have injected a much‑needed lift in confidence for both Alonso and the team. While the performance gap to the front‑running cars remains significant, the positive feedback from the driver and the tangible improvement on track suggest that Aston Martin may be beginning to close the deficit.
With a new Honda engine on the horizon and further development work planned for the next season, the team’s leadership hopes that the momentum generated in Budapest can be sustained, turning the current "respectability" target into a stepping stone toward genuine competitiveness in the years to come.