Fernando Alonso has made it clear that despite the new chassis he will be using at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Aston Martin will not be able to close the gap to its Formula 1 rivals. The two-time world champion said that 'no package in the world' could reverse the team's current situation.
Last place in five consecutive races.
Aston Martin is going into the 2026 season at a significant disadvantage. The team has been forced to start from second place in all five of the last races. At the Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchamps, both Alonso and his teammate Lance Stroll were 2.1 seconds behind Sergio Perez of Cadillac, who was one position above them in last place. The gap wasn't this large at the Australian opener; however, as Cadillac brought in updates while Aston Martin focused on resolving the fundamental issues of the AMR26, this gap widened over time.
Speaking before Budapest, Alonso emphasized that the gap to pole position had remained consistent over the last five races, but that the situation had been much more difficult at some tracks: 'Silverstone was tough, Spa was one of the toughest; the guy in front of us was 2.1 seconds ahead. Even if we had been driving the current car a week earlier at Spa, the standings wouldn't have changed; we have to take it that way.' Although Alonso's single point in Monaco puts Aston Martin ahead of their new team Cadillac, the British team is still the slowest in the package.
B-spec chassis and anticipation management
Aston Martin brought a new chassis with radical changes focusing on aerodynamics and weight reduction for the Hungarian GP weekend. A power unit update is planned for the Zandvoort race in August. While Cadillac's Perez said these changes would definitely bring Aston Martin closer, Alonso took a much more cautious approach: 'I hope Budapest will be a more suitable track for us; power isn't the most critical factor here, which could give us some breathing room. But the engine hasn't been updated yet, so there's a deficiency we need to overcome. For me, the most important thing is to understand the direction of the car and see that we are on the right track,' he said.
Team Chief Track Officer Mike Krack delivered a similar message regarding expectation management. Describing the challenge of assimilating major updates in a non-winter testing environment, Krack said, "We don't expect to get everything from the first run tomorrow; I think fundamental tests like ride height and rake angle will extend into the upcoming races." He added that he was confident that quality data and simulation analysis would accelerate this learning process.
Alonso's statements are in line with Aston Martin's overall message in Budapest: the focus is less on immediate results and more on getting to know the new package and laying the right foundation for 2027.