Brundle delivers first reaction as upgraded Aston Martin debuts in Hungary
Martin Brundle gave his first reaction on the upgraded Aston Martin
Martin Brundle observed an Aston Martin AM26 which “definitely looks better” out on the track at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
However, the “fear” for Brundle is that it will be F1 2027 before Aston Martin and Honda are “back where they should be” in Formula 1. The substantial upgrade package introduced by Aston Martin in Hungary is only step one in the recovery mission.
Martin Brundle’s first thoughts on upgraded Aston Martin
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After early F1 2026 pain for Aston Martin, its B-spec AMR26 finally arrived for Hungary. The initial signs are promising.
Aston Martin spent practice in the fight with Haas, Williams and Cadillac.
PlanetF1.com understands that Aston Martin is feeling positive with the correlation between virtual and real world there, after an encouraging emergence for the upgraded AMR26 in Hungary.
That correlation is important, as it suggests that going forward, Aston Martin can have confidence that its further developments will yield the anticipated performance. Not only in F1 2026, but into next year too.
The team has maintained a cautious outward approach despite positive early signs from the upgrades.
Brundle’s opening verdict on the new-look AMR26 was similarly encouraging. Though, he fears a true recovery will be a longer-term process.
Fernando Alonso has spoken about this AMR26 package being the first step. The upgraded Honda engine is due to arrive at the Dutch Grand Prix.
As reported by PlanetF1.com on Thursday, Honda’s new creation is set to debut in a Hungaroring filming day, in the week following the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Aston Martin team principal and design chief Adrian Newey revealed that further chassis alterations are coming after the summer break.
“The car definitely looks better,” said Brundle of the upgraded AMR26, speaking via Sky F1. “It looks better out on track when I was out there yesterday.
“Often you’ve got speed but not reliability, or you’ve got reliability, but you’re struggling for speed, and you can fix one or the other.
“Unfortunately for Aston Martin this year, they’ve had neither speed nor reliability, and the car’s been very hard to drive.
“All of the ingredients are there. Everything’s there that you need at Aston Martin, but the souffle just will not rise.
“But we’ll wait and see. If the upgrades are not stonking, it means that the tools are not correlating that they’ve got at the factory and not correlating with the stopwatch. So we’re waiting to see.
“I fear it might be 2027, I’m fairly sure it will be, before Honda and Aston Martin are back where they should be.”
More on Aston Martin from PlanetF1.com
Newey delivers first verdict as upgraded Aston Martin debuts in Hungary
First Aston Martin upgrade reaction as Alonso makes data discovery
This opening act in Aston Martin’s recovery mission comes at a time where Alonso’s F1 future is in the spotlight.
Moreso than just Aston Martin’s performance, Alonso has suggested that his enjoyment of the sport will be the main factor behind his decision.
It was put to Brundle that the combination of Newey and Alonso will ultimately be a winning one.
“But you need the downforce, you need the horsepower to go with that magical combination,” Brundle stressed.
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
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