– According to Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey, the extensive amount of upgrades for the AMR26 in Hungary is only “part of the package”. Further steps, according to Newey, are to follow in Monza and Baku. Furthermore, a new Honda engine is planned for Zandvoort.
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“It’s an evolution, because the chassis is the same,” explains the engineer before the race weekend. “The layout is the same and the front suspension also remains identical. So it’s primarily an aerodynamic evolution.”
Overall, Aston Martin has sixteen different upgrades in Hungary. However, Newey does not want to set fixed goals despite the number of new parts. “I think these are a few big steps, but we still have a lot to find.”
F1: Hungarian Grand Prix (Budapest) 2026
“Do we have the fastest car because of [the upgrades]? Unfortunately not. But does it represent a step forward for us compared to our previous position? Yes, I think so.”
Newey sees the fact that Aston Martin was able to test its current car in the wind tunnel significantly later than its competitors as the root of many problems. “We had decided, whether right or wrong, to wait two more weeks until we could use our wind tunnel, and not to work in Brackley for a short time only to move again,” he explained.
“That was the timeline behind it. I would say it was a big build-up process. So we were a little behind with everything. But you do what you can implement.”
Certainly, Newey, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll or Lawrence Stroll had imagined the start of the new Formula 1 generation completely differently.
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From the start of the season, the AMR26 not only struggled with major reliability issues but also with a lack of pace. In Spa-Francorchamps or Silverstone, they even had great difficulty keeping up with newcomer Cadillac. Nevertheless, they are in tenth position in the Constructors’ World Championship, ahead of the new racing team.
“The first races were an absolute nightmare,” explains Newey. “Hopefully we can regain some reputation now. That’s the medium-term goal, and after that, we can try to move further forward.”
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The free practice sessions in Hungary probably didn’t necessarily help the team’s reputation. Aston Martin remains a backmarker at the Hungaroring. In addition, Stroll couldn’t even participate in the second free practice session because his suspension had given up the ghost in the previous session.
According to Newey, the problem was not due to the new upgrade package. “The affected area has not been changed,” explains the team principal. “We are short of spare parts because the fairing is a little different there.”
“So,” he explained, “we’ve changed a few small things in that area, but in that sense, it’s really unexpected. Until we have a better understanding of it, it’s hard to comment.”
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