Fernando Alonso Avoids Major Aston Martin Upgrade Scare at 2026 Hungarian F1 GP

Fernando Alonso expressed relief after Aston Martin’s major upgrade package performed as expected and carried him beyond Q1 for the first time in qualifying during the 2026 Formula 1 season.

Alonso progressed into Q2 with the extensively revised AMR26. Although he was eliminated during the second phase, he finished only 0.083 seconds away from beating Esteban Ocon on outright pace.

The scale of the changes was substantial, with only the front suspension, engine and gearbox carried over from the specification used in Belgium. The package immediately improved Aston Martin’s competitiveness after the team repeatedly failed to escape Q1 during the opening part of the campaign.

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“When you bring a nearly new car, you always believe that it is important to have the correlation right and deliver what you expect to deliver,” Alonso said.

“Even if it is what we expected, it was important to have it and not experience a nasty surprise,” he added.

Alonso believes the team has not yet fully understood the new package. Qualifying provided further lessons about the car’s balance, and he suggested Aston Martin would probably choose a different set-up if another session were available.

The clearest improvement came from the additional aerodynamic load and overall cornering grip. Alonso described the car as more consistent through corner entry, the middle phase and exit compared with the previous specification.

“The car is a little bit more forgiving and easier to drive. The previous car was trickier,” Alonso said.

Aston Martin has further components planned for later in the season, while Honda is expected to introduce a new power unit at the Dutch Grand Prix after the summer break. Those developments will determine how much more potential can be extracted from the Adrian Newey-designed package.

The Hungaroring qualifying result has not yet placed Aston Martin among the leading teams, but it provides the first indication that the B-spec development direction has produced genuine progress. The team must now refine the set-up and understand the package before the next phase of the season begins.