Fernando Alonso praised the recent evolution of his Aston Martin, describing the car’s behaviour as "much better" after the team unveiled a substantial upgrade package during the Hungarian Grand Prix practice on Friday. The British‑based outfit had entered the 2024 season hoping that the new set of technical regulations – which took effect at the start of the year – would provide a chance to break into the sport’s traditional "big four" and contend for championships. Instead, the campaign has been plagued by a severely under‑performing Honda power unit and a chassis, overseen by the legendary Adrian Newey, that has failed to meet the lofty expectations set for it. While rivals have introduced a series of incremental upgrades throughout the year, Aston Martin chose to wait until the eleventh round in Budapest to roll out a single, comprehensive package comprising sixteen new components.
The timing proved a mixed blessing. During the first practice session, the left‑rear suspension on Lance Stroll’s car fractured, forcing him to miss the second session entirely.
Alonso, however, managed a relatively smooth run and emerged from the day visibly more optimistic. "It was much better," Alonso said after completing his laps. "The car felt more glued to the ground and easier to drive, especially when you can control the grip through the corners. It’s a more predictable and manageable machine, but there’s still a long way to go for us.
Obviously this is only the first step." The chassis upgrade arrives just ahead of Honda’s anticipated delivery of a major power‑unit upgrade at the Dutch Grand Prix following the summer break. Alonso emphasized the need for gains on both fronts.
"We need to find more performance not only from the chassis but also from the 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 more or less what we expected.
The most encouraging thing is that what we thought the new package would do actually translated into reality on track. That kind of correlation is what we need for next year’s project, so I think there is a positive atmosphere in the team now." In the second practice session Alonso’s lap time placed him 19th, sandwiched between the two 2026 newcomers from Cadillac. The result was partly compromised by a lap that was invalidated for exceeding track limits, as well as a red‑flag interruption caused by Alpine’s Franco Colapinto crashing. Alonso remained hopeful that the car could still produce a quicker lap on Saturday.
"The red flag and traffic made it tricky to maximise the lap," he explained. "Maybe there’s a little more to come from our side, but it could be the same for everyone, so let’s see tomorrow. We concentrated on testing the new parts and trying to understand the setup direction, which may be very different from what we’ve run 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 most decorated designer in Formula 1 history, admitted that his short‑term objective is simply to bring the team back to "respectability". Speaking at a press conference between the two practice sessions, he said: "The first races have been a complete nightmare. Hopefully we can get at least a point and respectability now. I think that is the immediate goal.
From there, we can try to keep moving forward." Newey’s comments came before Stroll was ruled out of the second practice after the team could not repair his car in time. The left‑rear suspension failure forced Stroll to spin and avoid the barriers late in the opening session. Newey said the team was initially uncertain about the cause of the failure.
"As you can imagine, everybody is feverishly trying to understand exactly what went wrong as we speak. It’s only once we have an understanding that we can comment on what we do next," he noted. Further investigation revealed that the broken component was not a brand‑new part; rather, it was an older element that became problematic because it was surrounded by the newly introduced pieces. "The area involved was actually not changed," Newey clarified.
"We are short on spares because the cladding and so forth is different, so there are some minor changes in that area. In that sense, it’s very unexpected." Looking ahead, the weekend schedule includes a full slate of support series and the main Grand Prix events.
Saturday will feature the final practice session, followed by qualifying, while Sunday will host the race itself along with F3, F2 and Porsche Supercup support races. All sessions will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 and can be streamed via the NOW platform without a long‑term contract. In summary, Alonso’s remarks suggest that the massive Budapest upgrade has at least nudged the Aston Martin car in the right direction, offering a more stable platform and a glimpse of the performance envelope the team hopes to unlock.
Newey’s realistic target of achieving "respectability" underscores the challenges that lie ahead, but the positive atmosphere within the garage indicates that the team believes it is on a path toward gradual improvement. The upcoming Dutch Grand Prix will be the first real test of Honda’s new engine package, and if the chassis and power unit start to click, Aston Martin could finally begin to shed the tag of perpetual under‑performer and re‑enter the conversation about front‑running teams in Formula 1.