Aston Martin finally had a weekend that looked and felt different at the Hungarian Grand Prix, with the team’s revised chassis package delivering a clear step forward after a miserable six months. The result was not a podium breakthrough or a sudden transformation into a front-runner, but it was enough to validate the upgrade direction and put the team back into proper midfield fighting range.
The clearest sign of progress came in qualifying and the race. Fernando Alonso reached Q2 and qualified P16, while Lance Stroll lined up P20 after suffering a suspension failure early in FP1. Even so, Aston Martin’s race pace was strong enough to move both cars ahead of Cadillac and Williams in Qualifying and Haas in the race, ending the weekend with both drivers in P13 and P14.
A weekend that answered a key question
For Aston Martin, the biggest question was whether the new package would work at all. Mike Krack said the team’s main objective was to go back racing, and on that front the answer was yes. As he put it, the team achieved that goal: the upgrade package works, and now the next steps need to be brought to the car.
Krack also noted that the expectation was always a lap-time or percentage improvement, but the exact outcome was uncertain before running the car. That uncertainty was part of the story on Thursday, when he said the team did not know where it would end up. By Sunday, the picture was much clearer.
That matters because Aston Martin’s Hungary performance was not presented as the end of development. Instead, it looks more like the start of a broader recovery plan. The revised chassis package gave the team a platform, and now attention shifts to further aero upgrades rather than a one-off rebound.
Honda’s revised power unit is next
The timing also matters because Honda is testing a revised power unit this week before bringing it to Zandvoort. That adds another layer to Aston Martin’s build-up, with the team now trying to stack improvements across more than one area after months of limited progress.
The data from Hungary should help. Fernando Alonso completed 34 laps on soft tyres before switching during the late Virtual Safety Car, while both cars collected valuable mileage in race trim. That kind of running is important for a team that has spent much of the year searching for answers rather than building momentum.
After Spa left Aston Martin last by some margin a week earlier, Hungary was a notable shift. The team did not solve everything, but it did prove the revised package can move the car forward. With Honda testing next and more aero steps to come, Aston Martin appears to have finally reached a point where the development story is moving again.
