Fernando Alonso reckons qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix was an “important” boost for the Aston Martin Formula 1 team after his first Q2 appearance in grand prix qualifying in the 2026 campaign.
The two-time F1 world champion took 16th at the Hungaroring to end Aston Martin’s run of five consecutive qualifying sessions occupying the back row, with a deficit of around two seconds.
But round 11 in Budapest marked the Silverstone squad’s first major upgrade of the year, radically changing its AMR26’s chassis with an engine update coming next in Zandvoort.
“It was important,” said Alonso. “Definitely, it was important for everyone in the team as it has been a tough period in both factories.
“Having the deficit that we had in terms of performance in the first half of the year, and this package obviously didn’t change many positions, but it changed a lot the momentum of everyone in the factory.
“It’s not anymore that we are chasing something that we don’t know. We know exactly what we are looking for and we know exactly the targets for the next package or the targets for next year.
“So that’s, I think for me, the biggest change of this weekend.”
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
The biggest positive for the Spaniard is that he’s managed to complete a clean weekend up to now, while qualifying ahead of Haas, Williams and Cadillac by at least one tenth.
“When you bring a new car, you always believe that it is important to have the correlation right and you deliver what you expect to deliver,” the 44-year-old added.
“Even if it’s what we expected, I think it was important to have it and not have a nasty surprise.
“The way the car drives, we just gain load and overall grip on the corners. Maybe a little bit more consistent to drive, so corner by corner, an entry meets an exit of the corner, the car is a little bit more forgiving, so it’s a little bit easier to drive.
“The previous car we had, it was trickier to drive.”
But the weekend has not gone as well for Alonso’s team-mate Lance Stroll, who on Friday spun off at Turn 2 during first practice with a rear suspension failure, causing him to miss FP2.
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
On Saturday, he eventually qualified 20th, ahead of both Cadillacs, and although he acknowledged Aston’s progress, Stroll was still left frustrated by the current weaknesses.
“Better, for sure,” said the Canadian. ”I think we’re missing a lot on engine. So, yeah, we have to find more power. We’re definitely much better on grip level, so we just need to find more power.
“The car didn’t turn in Turn 12. I checked. I think we had a 10km/h tailwind and it just went straight into the gravel. So, annoying, because I think we could have got into Q2 today.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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