Adrian Newey holds McLaren MCL40 inspection at Hungarian Grand Prix

Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey was spotted by PlanetF1.com inspecting the McLaren MCL40 of Oscar Piastri on the grid ahead of Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

It came as Aston Martin introduced its long-awaited B-spec car in Budapest.

Adrian Newey expects Oscar Piastri’s McLaren at Hungarian Grand Prix

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Newey made his fourth trackside appearance of the F1 2026 season in Hungary following his previous visits in Australia, Monaco and Britain.

His return to the paddock coincided with the introduction of a major upgrade package for Aston Martin, which saw Fernando Alonso reach Q2 for the first time this year.

Alonso and teammate Lance Stroll went on to finish 14th and 13th respectively on race day.

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Newey is renowned for examining the designs of rival teams on the starting grid ahead of each race.

And PlanetF1.com’s on-the-ground reporter Thomas Maher captured the moment the McLaren of Piastri caught his attention moments before the start in Budapest (below).

Hungary marked the second time in 2026 that Newey has studied the car of the reigning world champions, with the Aston Martin boss also paying close attention to both McLarens on the grid in Monaco earlier this season (below).

As revealed by PlanetF1.com last week, Aston Martin will hold a filming day at the Hungaroring this week.

The outing will see Honda’s upgraded power unit – focused on improvements to the internal combustion engine – take to the track for the first time ahead of its race debut at next month’s Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.

Speaking to PlanetF1.com in Budapest, Newey confirmed that Aston Martin’s Hungarian Grand Prix upgrade will be followed by further steps after the summer break.

Addressing the team’s major upgrade, he said: “Provisional results are promising.

“It’s only part of the package, so we’ll have some more steps in Zandvoort and then further in Monza/Baku.

“It’s the first part of our planned upgrade. We’re very short on parts [in Hungary], so we’re being careful with it and trying to learn all about it.”

Mike Krack, Aston Martin’s chief trackside officer, indicated that the team is moving in a “different direction” aerodynamically with its B-spec AMR26.

However, Newey insisted that the new-look Aston Martin is more of an evolution.

He explained: “It’s an evolution inasmuch as the chassis is the same, the layout’s the same, the front suspension’s the same, so it’s very much an aerodynamic evolution.

“We were very short on research time prior to the launch of the car back in Barcelona in February.

“So it’s really been a matter of taking a step back, trying to understand and going forward with this package.”

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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