Alonso happy with the new Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso had an intense Friday of work behind the wheel of the new Aston Martin AMR26, updated for the Hungarian Grand Prix. The Spanish driver finished Free Practice 2 far from the top positions, but the Silverstone team’s focus was primarily on data collection after the introduction of a significant evolutionary package. Aston Martin brought a deeply revised car to the Hungaroring, with interventions on the chassis, aerodynamics, and weight reduction to try and change the fate of a season that has been complicated so far.
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Alonso’s work focused on understanding the behavior of the new configuration, with particular attention to the car’s balance and the correlation between track and simulator. And the result has fully satisfied the two-time world champion.
Alonso’s words
“Yes, it was a good feeling,” was Alonso’s immediate comment. “I think, in general, we achieved what we expected in terms of numbers and correlation, which is very encouraging for the future, both for the 2027 car and for the 2026 updates. We still have a long way to go, obviously we started from a very backward position, but this is the first step.”
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“I believe I can have a car capable of fighting, now. We need to analyze the data better and do some cross-comparisons, but I don’t think there are any big surprises or big gaps in corners compared to the top of the midfield. And obviously our first goal is to get into that area. Of course, there are still steps to be taken to reach the top from a chassis point of view and also from an engine point of view. But, I repeat, it’s the first step and there’s a positive atmosphere in the team, knowing that we are able to achieve the results we expect.”
The FP2 result does not yet fully reveal the potential of the new Aston Martin, but the Hungaroring weekend represents a fundamental step for Alonso and the entire team. After a very difficult first part of the championship, the two-time world champion is looking for concrete signs of growth: the priority is to return to consistently fighting in the midfield and to transform the updates into a real turning point for the AMR26 project.
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