Aston Martin receive rare F1 praise after seismic boost: 'You can't critique'

Aston Martin has received rare praise from former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner, who insisted the outfit cannot be "critiqued" following its positive Hungary performance.

It has been a season of ongoing and escalating criticism for Aston Martin, which for the opening 10 rounds was at the bottom of the pecking order and in a serious state of bother.

In Hungary, the final round before the summer break, the Silverstone-based outfit finally introduced its first major upgrade package of the year, essentially unveiling a new car.

Round after round, Aston Martin spoke of its significance, and to its credit, it delivered an immediate improvement.

It found significant performance and was more competitive than Cadillac, Williams and Haas, elevating the team into the midfield. Fernando Alonso stormed into Q2 and finished the 11th round of the campaign in 14th, behind Lance Stroll in 13th.

Steiner was impressed by the British squad's turnaround and is now looking towards Honda's engine upgrade for the first round after the summer break at Zandvoort.

Discussing Aston Martin's Hungary performance after introducing its major upgrade package, Steiner said on the Red Flags podcast: "They did a very good job, and where did they end up? As we said, they got two seconds faster. 

"They are still outside of the points, but fair play to them. I mean, you can't critique where they were and where they went. They passed Williams, Haas and Cadillac. 

"All these guys are saying, 'Yeah, we bring upgrades, we do this, that and the other,' and it doesn't work. 

"Aston Martin built a completely new car in a very short period of time, and obviously, it's not where they want to end up, being Aston Martin, but at least they got some satisfaction out of it because I think we all doubted that they would come back at all. But they did. Now, if the new engine comes as well, that will help too."