Newey delivers first verdict as upgraded Aston Martin debuts in Hungary

Adrian Newey has delivered an encouraging first verdict on Aston Martin’s long-awaited B-spec AMR26 after the heavily upgraded car made its debut at the Hungarian Grand Prix. But, this is merely stage one.

Aston Martin has endured a torrid F1 2026 season thus far, with Fernando Alonso’s point at the Monaco Grand Prix the only highlight.

Adrian Newey encouraged by Aston Martin AMR26 upgrade package

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust.

Although that elevated the team above Cadillac in the constructors’ championship, overall, Aston Martin has been slower than the newcomers.

Last time out at Spa, Alonso was two seconds down on the second-placed Cadillac driver in Q1, and 4.2s behind pace-setter that session’s pace-setter, Charles Leclerc.

On the back, with the car overweight and lacking in downforce, as well as suffering reliability issues, Newey made the decision not to bring small performance gains every few races. Instead, he and Aston Martin went all-in on a B-spec car.

Focused on addressing the car’s fundamental weaknesses through sweeping aerodynamic and chassis changes, the car, which featured 16 changes, covered its first laps at the Hungaroring in Friday’s FP2.

Alonso completed 20 laps with a best time that was only 2.475s slower than Leclerc’s P1 time. That put the Spaniard P13 on the timesheet, his best FP1 of the season.

As for Lance Stroll, the Canadian ran into trouble late in the session when a suspected rear left suspension failure sent him into a spin, ending his session

But while that was a complication for the team, Newey spoke positively of the B-spec car in his first interview since its debut.

More on Aston Martin from PlanetF1.com

All eyes on Aston Martin and Newey as FIA reveals 16-part AMR26 upgrade

Aston Martin confirms ‘different direction’ as $1million question answered

“So we only really got properly running, data acquisition first of all,” Newey said. “Then with Fernando, we got onto the soft tyres near the end.

“Very early days in terms of understanding the new package.

“Provisional results are promising.

“It’s only part of the package. We will have some more steps in Zandvoort, Monza and Baku, so it is the first part of our planned upgrade.

“Very short on parts so being careful with it and trying to learn all about it.”

Despite the huge number of updates, Newey, whose cars have won 26 championship titles in Formula 1, called the revision an evolution.

“It’s an evolution in as much as the chassis is the same, the layout’s the same, front suspension’s the same. So, it’s very much an aerodynamic evolution,” he said.

“We were very short on time research time prior to launch of the car back in at Barcelona in February. So, it’s really been a matter of taking a step back, trying to understand, and go forward with this package.”

The big question on everyone’s minds is what gains can Aston Martin make as the team seeks to save its season.

Alonso warned about getting carried away on that, insisting that no upgrade package could erase the two-second deficit the team faced at Spa.

He was, however, ahead of both Cadillac drivers in FP1. It is, however, early running.

That question was put to Newey, who replied: “I’ve never been a fan of setting goals.

“Much more a fan of working logically through problems, getting everybody working together, getting a culture together, and then at that point, you end up where you end up.

“What I have found over the years is when you’re not winning, it seems an impossible mountain to climb. When you are winning, sometimes you’re not sure how you got there, because you’re not actually doing anything different, or you don’t feel as if you’re doing anything different.”

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read Next: Alonso warns B-spec AMR26 upgrades cannot erase two-second F1 deficit