Fernando Alonso pinpoints 'most encouraging thing' from Aston Martin upgrade

Fernando Alonso has pinpointed the on-track correlation to Aston Martin's expectations as the "most encouraging thing" from its huge Hungary upgrade.

Aston Martin finally unleashed its eagerly anticipated upgrade in Budapest, with an eye-catching 16 new parts brought to the AMR26, with only the front suspension, engine, and gearbox carried over to what is effectively a B-spec car.

Alonso finished 13th in FP1, Aston's highest finish in any session since the two-time champion grabbed a point - the team's only in 2026 - in Monaco, and was 19th in FP2, but did have his best lap deleted for track limits.

It was not all smooth sailing for the team as Lance Stroll suffered a rear suspension failure in FP1, with the team not able to fix the issue in time for FP2, leaving the Canadian with just 11 laps all day. 

However, Alonso spoke warmly of the fresh upgrades, including the correlation between the wind tunnels and CFD and on-track performance and feeling. 

"It was much better, much better. The car felt more glued to the ground and easier to drive to an extent when you are in control of the grip in the corner, so it was more predictable and an easier car, but there is still a long way to go for us," Alonso explained.

"Obviously, this is only the first step. We need to find more performance both on the chassis and also on the engine, and Zandvoort will be a good test for us with a new engine, but it is definitely in the right direction.

"It looks better for sure, and it's more or less what we expected, which is the most encouraging thing, in that what we thought the new package would do to the car actually translated into reality on track.

"That kind of correlation is what we need also for next year's project, so I think there is a positive atmosphere in the team now.

"It was tricky with the red flag and some of the traffic to maximise the lap, so maybe there is a little bit more to come from our side, but maybe it's the same for everybody. 

"We concentrated on testing the new parts and trying to understand the setup direction, which maybe can be very different from what we used to run in the last few events, so I think there is more potential to unlock, hopefully."