Fernando Alonso cut a positive figure after sampling Aston Martin’s major updates for the first time during Friday practice in Hungary, describing the revised AMR26 as “much better” overall.
Aston Martin have made no fewer than 16 changes to their car this weekend, with Team Principal and designer Adrian Newey setting an “immediate goal” of achieving “respectability” amid the squad’s challenging start to 2026.
While Lance Stroll was sidelined by an apparent suspension issue in FP1, which also kept him out of FP2, there were more encouraging signs for Alonso, who wound up 13th at the end of day’s opening session.
He dropped to 19th in second practice, but lost his best lap time due to a track limits violation, leaving the two-time World Champion optimistic that Aston Martin can make more of an impression when it comes to Qualifying.
“It was as expected,” Alonso said of his day, and the impact of Aston Martin’s upgrades. “I think it was tricky with the red flag and some of the traffic to maximise the laps, so maybe there’s a little bit more to come from our side, but maybe it’s the same for everybody. Let’s see tomorrow.
“We concentrated on testing the new parts and trying to understand the set-up direction, which maybe can be very different than what we used to run in the last few events. So, I think there is more potential to unlock hopefully tonight and into tomorrow’s Quali.”
Pushed on whether the car felt better, with some 25 years of F1 experience to draw upon, Alonso continued: “Sure, sure. It was much better, much better.
“The car feels more glued to the ground, easier to drive to an extent, when you are in control of the grip in the corners. A more predictable and easier car, but still a long way to go for us, and obviously this is only the first step.
“We need to find more performance both on the chassis but also on the engine now – Zandvoort will be a good test for us with the new engine. Step-by-step, but definitely in the right direction.”
Alonso went on to highlight what has pleased him the most about Aston Martin’s upgrade package, as the team push to turn their season around and get their objective of one day challenging for race wins and world titles back on track.
“It’s more or less what we expected, which is the most encouraging thing,” he commented. “What we thought the new package would do to the car, it actually translates into reality on track, and that kind of correlation is what we need also for next year’s project.
“I think there is a positive atmosphere in the team now.”
