Aston Martin Revolution
In the other Formula 1 championship, that of the midfield and backmarker teams, who are fighting for positions from fifth to eleventh in the Constructors’ World Championship, the Hungarian GP weekend revolved almost entirely around observing the performance of the new Aston Martin. The reliability of the AMR26 in version 2.0 still leaves something to be desired, but undoubtedly the updates brought by Adrian Newey have pushed the Silverstone single-seaters further forward, and they are no longer the tail-enders of the grid. Fernando Alonso even managed to qualify for Q2, using an extra set of soft tires compared to his direct rivals, but putting behind him not only the two Cadillacs but also the Williams and Oliver Bearman’s Haas. A clear message for the second half of the World Championship, which will open after the summer break: we are here too now.
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Sainz inspired
The rebirth, for now only partial, of Aston Martin, has sparked mixed reactions on the grid: Carlos Sainz urged a struggling Williams to take inspiration from the progress made by Adrian Newey’s team. “Aston Martin went from having worse downforce and chassis than us at Spa, to currently having the best downforce among the midfield teams – commented Sainz speaking to journalists present in Hungary – so it’s up to us to find the solution to increase downforce and identify the evolution. I see all this positively, in the sense that the team should consider this aspect and say: ‘Yes, it’s possible if you do things well’”.
Bearman nervous
Less pleased with Aston Martin’s progress was Haas driver Ollie Bearman. The Englishman, from the FDA academy, was the one who had to give up his Q2 spot to Fernando Alonso, being eliminated in the first phase of qualifying. Haas is going through a period of significant results crisis, and Bearman appeared quite concerned in interviews given at the end of qualifying: “It’s been a difficult weekend so far – commented Bearman – the Astons used three sets [of soft tires in Q1] and that certainly benefited them, but we shouldn’t be fighting with them”.
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“It’s really painful – continued Bearman, speaking about the Q1 elimination – it shows that we are really struggling at the moment. But, at the same time, this is probably the circuit with the shortest straights [on the calendar]. So I don’t think [the situation] will remain like this forever. However, it’s a warning for us: we need to improve our performance,” he concluded.
