Aston Martin Racing is preparing to introduce a new category B chassis at the Hungarian Grand Prix, but driver Fernando Alonso has warned that no package of improvements will solve his team’s current disadvantage compared to the rest of the Formula 1 grid.
The 2026 season has been quite complicated for the Silverstone team, which has been the slowest in the championship, despite Alonso scoring a lucky point in Monaco, placing them above the newcomer Cadillac. Furthermore, in the last race at Spa, Aston Martin qualified in the last positions, with a two-second gap to the next slowest team.
Alonso has expressed that even though this weekend a significantly different chassis is being implemented, focusing on aerodynamics and weight reduction, expectations should not be exaggerated. The driver commented that the differences with the mid-field teams are substantial and this change is not expected to immediately prove anything long-term.
The two-time world champion, who has confessed that he is not focusing much on positions, has acknowledged that the current situation is complicated and that performance needs to improve over time. ‘We are not thinking about numbers or positions, as the maximums are unattainable at this moment. We hope Budapest will be a friendly circuit for us,’ Alonso stated.
Aston Martin’s track operations chief, Mike Krack, pointed out that by bringing in substantial improvements, the team will need to quickly adapt to new dynamics and manage data efficiently to optimize the performance of the new components. It has become clear that the team needs time to learn to manage the improvements and extract maximum performance.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
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