Aston Martin boss Adrian Newey reckons the team’s revamped car planned for the Hungarian Grand Prix is enough to convince Fernando Alonso to stay for the 2027 Formula 1 campaign.
Alonso’s future is highly uncertain as the 44-year-old is starting to run out of time to make the struggling Aston Martin project work, with the team slipping well behind newcomer Cadillac as F1’s slowest team.
Having fallen well behind the development curve, Aston’s 2026 challenger is both overweight and underdeveloped, which coupled with an uncompetitive power unit from Honda, has led to a terrible campaign.
Aston has fallen further behind in recent weeks because it hasn’t rolled out any significant upgrades, instead banking on a larger package for next month’s Hungarian Grand Prix that the team hopes will make a meaningful difference rather than the odd tenth of a second.
Newey, who says the upgrade will be focused on an aerodynamic revamp and a significant weight saving operation, is pinning his hopes on the summer update to convince Alonso it is worth sticking with the Silverstone operation rather than calling time on his storied F1 career.
“It’s very important,” Newey was quoted by the Aston Martin website. “Fernando is really looking forward to the upgrade and, if it performs, we hope he’ll be in the cockpit for another season.
Adrian Newey, Aston Martin Racing
Photo by: Lars Baron / Getty Images
“Given his experience, his feel for the car, his ability to guide development, he’s a tremendous asset. But he wants to see clear, tangible progress. If we can show that we’re moving decisively in the right direction, he’s absolutely committed to being behind the wheel.”
Detailing the car upgrade, Newey said: “The main structural elements remain the same – the chassis and gearbox architecture don’t fundamentally change – but we’ve taken weight out of both, which required re-homologating and crash testing the forward chassis.
“The front suspension is unchanged. The rear suspension is slightly revised. We’ve developed a new nose and substantially revised aerodynamic surfaces. So, while the core structure is similar, it’s a big aerodynamic package coupled with significant weight reduction. The target is to get very close to the weight limit.
“We’re predicting a large step, but I’m reluctant to put specific numbers out there because our simulation tools aren’t yet as sophisticated or well correlated as they need to be.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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