Alonso on improvements of his AMR26: “There is more potential to unlock”

Written by Bo Helmus

Alonso says these improvements were 'expected' | Credit: Formula One

This weekend, it’s finally time for Aston Martin’s long awaited upgrade package. The team in British Racing Green has been struggling for pace all season long, often fighting for last position rather than first. The question is: will the upgrades work?

Aston Martin has brought not one, not two, but 16 upgrades to the Hungaroring. According to team principal Adrian Newey, this should achieve respectability after a challenging start to the season. 

All eyes on practice 

Everyone was looking at the team from Silverstone in the free practice sessions on Friday. And as though a miracle: Alonso seemed to have decent pace. In the first practice session, he was only 2.475 seconds slower than Charles Leclerc, who set the fastest time. That was good for 13th place, the best result for the team in any session this season. Lance Stroll wasn’t as quick as his teammate. He set the 21st time before his suspension failed. 

Where Alonso was flying in FP1, Stroll had issues | Credit: Formula One

The second practice session was somewhat less exciting for Aston Martin. Stroll didn’t come out of his garage at all, and Alonso came in 19th place. That might sound disappointing, but time-wise they’re closing the gap to their competitors. 

Expectations are met

When asked if the car felt better than before, Alonso said: “Sure, sure. It was much better, much better. The Spaniard wasn’t surprised to see himself so high up on the timing sheet: “It was as expected. I think it was tricky with the red flag and some of the traffic to maximise the laps, so maybe there’s a little bit more to come from our side, but maybe it’s the same for everybody. Let’s see tomorrow.”

Bringing so many upgrades to a car means that you might go quicker, but you also need time to set them up properly: “We concentrated on testing the new parts and trying to understand the set-up direction, which maybe can be very different than what we used to run in the last few events. So, I think there is more potential to unlock hopefully tonight and into tomorrow’s Quali.”

The AMR26 seemed to perform significantly better than before | Credit: Formula One

Only the first step

The biggest change on the AMR26 is the grip: “The car feels more glued to the ground, easier to drive to an extent, when you are in control of the grip in the corners. A more predictable and easier car, but still a long way to go for us, and obviously this is only the first step.”

As the 44-year-old driver mentioned, there is still work to do: “We need to find more performance both on the chassis but also on the engine now. Zandvoort will be a good test for us with the new engine. Step-by-step, but definitely in the right direction.”

Will the team be able to bring the fight to their competitors? | Credit: Formula One

Encouraging

“It’s more or less what we expected,” Alonso finally states. “That is the most encouraging thing. What we thought the new package would do to the car, it actually translates into reality on track, and that kind of correlation is what we need also for next year’s project.”

He ends by saying: “I think there is a positive atmosphere in the team now.”