First Aston Martin upgrade reaction as Alonso makes data discovery

Fernando Alonso confirmed a positive debut for the upgraded Aston Martin AMR26 in Hungary. The data pointed towards an eye-opening achievement.

Alonso said that the B-spec Aston Martin is “matching” the pace at the top of the midfield through corners. The correlation is correct, giving Aston Martin confidence for future development.

Fernando Alonso feels Aston Martin AMR26 gains

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After the early pain of F1 2026, Aston Martin finally put its upgraded chassis on the track in Hungary. It was a 16-part upgrade.

Aston Martin had become detached at the back of the pack, but the Friday practice timesheets indicated a clear step forward. Alonso could feel it.

“It felt good,” he said of the upgraded Aston Martin machine.

“I think in general we had what we expected in terms of numbers and correlation, which is obviously very encouraging for the future as well, for next year’s car and the future upgrades into this year.

“Still a long way to go for us, obviously, starting so far behind, but this is the first step, hopefully, of good ones coming.”

When asked if he can compete with rival teams at the wheel of this AMR26, Alonso spilled the beans on a very positive indication in the data.

“Yeah, I think so,” he confirmed.

“Obviously, we need to study the data more and see overlays. But I don’t think there are any big surprises there, or any big deficit on the corners now to the top of the midfield, which is obviously the first of our ambitions, to be top of the midfield. I think on the corners we are matching that kind of pace. So we just need to keep up the work.

“Obviously, still some steps to go to the chassis side, and some steps to go to the engine side as well. This is the first of many, but I think there is a positive atmosphere in the team, knowing that we delivered what we expected.”

Alonso was heard complaining of engine vibrations down the main straight at one point during FP1. This was an issue which plagued Aston Martin and Honda in the opening rounds of the season.

Aston Martin team principal and design chief Adrian Newey confirmed that Honda had begun an investigation.

Alonso confirmed that a solution was soon found.

“Today we had some vibrations in the main straight, especially in FP1,” said Alonso. “I think the guys fixed it more or less for FP2.

“There are no concerns for tomorrow.”

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Lance Stroll’s Friday was far less smooth. A suspected rear suspension failure saw the Canadian crash out of FP1. He did not appear in FP2.

“Unfortunately Lance did not participate in Free Practice Two. There was not enough time to repair the damage from Free Practice One,” Aston Martin confirmed in a short statement.

As reported by PlanetF1.com on Thursday, the upgraded Honda engine is due to appear in a filming day at the Hungaroring, in the week following the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Its competitive debut is expected at the Dutch Grand Prix, the first stop after the summer break.

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