Alonso: Aston Martin AMR26 feels planted after Hungarian GP upgrade
NXTbets Pro | Published On: July 25, 2026
Alonso upgrade boost
Fernando Alonso said Aston Martin’s major upgrade package changed the feel of the AMR26 at the Hungarian Grand Prix and gave the team a clear lift on Friday at the Hungaroring. Aston Martin brought a 16-part update that touched the front wing, floor, diffuser and rear suspension, and Alonso’s first run with it pointed in the right direction. He said the car felt “much better,” with “more potential to unlock,” and described it as more planted, more predictable and easier to drive. That mattered because Aston Martin needed a response after a stretch that left it searching for form, and Alonso said the revised package delivered what the team expected from the data. He said the correlation matched the team’s simulations, a sign the upgrade was working on the car the same way it had on the screens back at the factory. Alonso also said the change altered the tone of the weekend because qualifying felt like a different session once the package was on the AMR26. The new parts gave him the sense that the car could be pushed with more confidence, and that opened the door to a more competitive run through the rest of the event. The update did more than change lap time. Alonso said it changed the mood inside the team by giving everyone a clearer read on where the car stood and where more speed could come from.
Alonso qualifying
Alonso reached Q2 for the first time in the 2026 Formula 1 season at the Hungaroring and qualified 16th, a result that reflected both the step forward from the upgrade and the work still left to do. He finished 13th in FP1 and 19th in FP2, and his best lap in the second practice session was deleted for a track-limits violation. Alonso said red flags, traffic and setup experimentation left more pace on the table, so the result did not show the full picture of the car’s potential on the day. Even so, he treated the session as a meaningful break in the pattern, because it let him fight a little more after several races spent at the back of the grid. He said the package gave him back the adrenaline of a fight, a feeling he had been missing while the team struggled to find a stable window. The Spanish driver also said the breakthrough mattered for morale, not only in the garage but across Aston Martin’s factories. That is where the value of the weekend reached beyond a single result. The team had a clearer direction, the driver had a more usable car and the numbers matched the track. For Aston Martin, that combination carried more weight than the final starting spot alone.
Aston Martin momentum
Aston Martin sees the Hungarian weekend as a checkpoint for the rest of the season and for next year’s project, with Alonso saying the package’s correlation was encouraging on both fronts. The team wanted confirmation that its development path could translate from simulation to the circuit, and the upgrade gave it that. Adrian Newey said Aston Martin’s immediate target was “at least a point and respectability,” which underlined how much the team still expects to build from here. The weekend was not free of setbacks, either. Lance Stroll missed FP2 after a rear suspension failure in FP1, a reminder that the same part of the car that received attention in the upgrade cycle can still decide how much track time the team gets. Even so, the broader direction looked more positive than it had in recent rounds. Alonso’s comments pointed to a car that was easier to understand and a team that could now work from a more reliable baseline. Aston Martin hopes to test another major improvement at the Dutch Grand Prix after the summer break, and a Honda engine upgrade is expected then. That gives the Hungarian package added importance, because it offered a first real proof that the team’s development path can pay off on track before the next stage arrives.
