Fernando Alonso has made it clear that “no package in the world” will make up for the deficit Aston Martin faced to the cars ahead last time out in Belgium, but hopes their long-awaited upgrades can put the team on a “good path”.
Aston Martin’s challenging 2026 season reached a new low at the sweeping Spa-Francorchamps circuit when Alonso and team mate Lance Stroll were cut adrift from the midfield pack by some two seconds, and were more than four seconds down on the Q1 benchmark.
However, this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix will see Aston Martin – led by F1 design guru Adrian Newey – introduce their first proper car updates of the campaign, with the Silverstone-based squad targeting one significant step as opposed to a series of smaller developments.
Asked just how much of an improvement Aston Martin are expecting from their new car, before Honda bring power unit changes to the Dutch Grand Prix next month, Alonso said: “It’s difficult to say. I’m not thinking too much on numbers or positions or something like that.
“If we go back to the last five races, I think we have very different gaps with the midfield. We had a more or less consistent gap to the pole position, which is unreachable, obviously, at this moment.
“There were a couple of tough circuits; I think Silverstone was tough, Spa was one of the toughest – I think we had the guy in front of us [by] 2.1 seconds. There is no package in the world that will give you that amount of time, and probably the position will not change if you ran the updated car in Spa one week ago.
“That’s how we need to treat it, it will change circuit-by-circuit. Hopefully Budapest is a friendly circuit for us. Power is not the most important point here. Obviously we will update the car, but not the engine yet.
“We still have some deficit that we need to overcome. I’m more into the weekend, understanding what is the direction of the car, if we’re in a good path, and if we unlock finally the performance.”
Alonso was then asked what signs and answers he wants to see from Aston Martin and Honda’s upgrades, and what would give him more hope looking ahead to 2027 – with the Spaniard’s F1 future yet to be confirmed.
“It’s not that I need answers,” he said. “I think I have a pretty clear picture of the team, that we will fix all the problems. They take time, but I have no doubts, I have zero doubts that Adrian will provide the best car on the grid sooner or later.
“As I said before, I would like to see the first step with this package, understanding after the first couple of races, and I think there’s going to be more to come next year, that’s for sure, and the years to come.
“On the power unit, I think I have no doubts as well. It’s a matter of time that Honda fixes the issues. We started on the back foot, yes, we’re dealing with that process now, and that pain on the weekends. We’re working together to fix the issues.
“It’s just how soon the car will be competitive – that’s the question mark. Maybe the next two races will give us a little bit of a feeling for that.
“For me, I’m relaxed. As I’ve said many times, I’m thinking I need to know what I do next year, and the years to come. I feel fresh, I feel motivated, I feel fast.”
Pressed later in Thursday’s press conference when an update on his future might be communicated, Alonso added with a smile: “I do have a contract, so I’m not moving!”
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