A “worrying” performance for Aston Martin in Hungary according to Fernando Alonso
Fifth and seventh in Hungary, the British team achieved a season's best result. A surprising performance for the drivers, who can't understand why the car was so fast this weekend.
This is the paradox on the Aston Martin side. A week ago in Belgium, both drivers were on the back row of the grid and finished the race in 14th and 17th positions. Seven days later, they had their best weekend. On Saturday, they achieved their best qualifying of the season with 5th and 7th places, just one-tenth off the pole position.
If the drivers were cautious given the less favorable race pace of the Aston Martin, they managed to maintain their position throughout the race and therefore scored 16 points for the team, a record since the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2023 (25 points with Alonso’s 3rd place and Stroll’s 5th). A surprising performance, but also concerning as the team does not seem to understand where this sudden boost in performance is coming from.
An inexplicable performance for Aston Martin
« It’s a surprise, clearly a surprise. A good surprise. The advantage is that we were competitive and fast », admitted the double Spanish world champion before adding: « What’s worrying is that we don’t know why. We need this week at the factory [before the mandatory summer break] to precisely analyze what the differences are between Spa and Hungary, what the differences are on the car as well, on the settings, on the aero devices we used. »
Currently, several options are being considered. One of them involves the new front wing introduced in Budapest. A new flap that has significantly increased the aerodynamic downforce of the car, perfectly suited to twisty circuits like the Hungaroring. Fernando Alonso has praised the work of the entire team who, unlike in previous seasons, seem to be bringing effective improvements to the AMR25, such as the new floor introduced at Silverstone. « The main change for us [in Hungary] was the front wing, which was new this weekend. If this wing gives us that much performance, it’s very good news, but it still needs to be confirmed. »
Performance related to the circuit configuration?
The good point is that everything we brought to the track corresponds exactly to what the wind tunnel indicated. No matter what we install on a weekend, we know what the car is going to deliver.
Another factor could be the characteristics of the circuits. Spa-Francorchamps is a track composed of long straights and fast corners, features that do not suit the Aston Martin which lacks top speed. In contrast, the Hungaroring circuit is winding, bumpy, and mostly composed of low and medium speed corners.
Despite this uncertainty, hope is back in the British camp after several difficult weeks. Now sixth in the constructors’ championship with 52 points, the team has climbed two positions in the standings and the team’s morale is now high. “I’m not going to lie, I was worried, I was concerned about the second half of the season. We were a bit demotivated, the whole team, and these last seven days have changed everything 180 degrees,” acknowledged Fernando Alonso, who has just secured a fifth points finish in the last six races.
Momentum to be maintained after the summer break
Nevertheless, the team must stay focused after this renewed motivation. Mike Krack, track operations director at Aston Martin, has warned about the need not to fall back in the hierarchy in the second half of the season. The Luxembourger remained realistic, however, explaining that due to the small gap between all the teams, it will be difficult to reproduce the performance in Hungary.
« Normally, you don’t go from the back of the pack to the front in seven days. We must remain realistic. We’ve had very tough races before, not just Spa. It doesn’t mean we’ve completely turned things around. I think it’s also somewhat circumstantial. The battle in the pack will continue, I’m sure. »
Zandvoort: new point-scoring opportunity for Aston Martin
This battle will wait three weeks with the summer break before F1 returns to Zandvoort, a track that is indeed faster than the Hungaroring but just as winding and narrow. It will therefore be important to see if the car is truly comfortable on this type of track. Another convincing result and the team based in Silverstone will be able to approach the end of the season with confidence before the arrival of the new regulations.
