Fernando Alonso believes Aston Martin’s long-awaited upgrade package has already delivered its most valuable reward – and it has little to do with finally reaching Q2.
The two-time world champion secured his first appearance in the second phase of qualifying this season at the Hungarian Grand Prix, providing a welcome boost for the Silverstone-based outfit after introducing its heavily revised 'B-spec' AMR26 at the Hungaroring.
Although Alonso could progress no further than 16th on the grid, more than a second shy of a place in Q3, he insisted the significance of the result stretched far beyond the final classification.
Momentum restored after dismal first half
“I think it was important,” Alonso said after qualifying.
“It definitely was important for everyone in the team. It has been a tough period, for both factories, having the deficit we had in terms of performance in the first half of the year.
“And this package, obviously, didn’t change many positions. But it changed a lot the momentum of everyone in the factory.
“It’s not anymore that we are chasing something we don’t know. We know exactly what we are looking for and we know the targets for the next package, or for next year.
“So, that’s for me, the biggest change of this weekend.”
Rather than viewing his Q2 appearance as proof that Aston Martin has suddenly become a midfield frontrunner, Alonso pointed to something arguably more important: confidence that the team's development direction is now firmly understood.
©Aston Martin
The Spaniard explained that confirming the upgraded car behaved exactly as expected was a major success in itself, eliminating fears that the extensive changes might expose unforeseen weaknesses.
“I think when you bring nearly a new car, you always believe that it is important to have the correlation right and you deliver what you expected to deliver,” he added.
“Even if it’s what we expected, I think it was important to have it and not have a nasty surprise.”
More performance still to come
Despite the encouraging signs shown throughout the weekend, Alonso believes Aston Martin has only scratched the surface of what its revamped package can deliver.
The F1 veteran admitted the team continued learning about the car even during qualifying and suggested another practice session would already have prompted further changes before Sunday's race.
“Yeah, but we’re still not on top of the package,” he explained. “In qualifying we relearned something again on the balance of the car.
“So, if we had another session, I think we will change the set-up again.
“I think it’s still early days. And I think there is more potential to unlock in the car, but it’s normal when you have such a big package.
“And unfortunately we lost one car from free practice yesterday, so we’re still down on experience on these parts.”
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That admission underlines why Aston Martin will likely leave Budapest with cautious optimism regardless of what happens on Sunday.
The upgraded AMR26 has not transformed the team's competitive position overnight, but it has provided something the squad had been missing through a frustrating opening half of the season: clear validation that its development tools are pointing in the right direction.
For Alonso, that renewed certainty could prove far more valuable in the long run than a single appearance in Q2.
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