Aston Martin left its competitors relatively surprised at the Hungarian GP, with the first major upgrade package developed under the direction of Adrian Newey. After appearing as the slowest team in Formula 1 for much of 2026, the team made a significant leap at the Hungaroring.
Read more F1: Domenicali says talks about engines are «progressing in the right way»
The British team had chosen to wait for a larger set of changes, rather than introducing several smaller updates throughout the season. The first part of this package arrived at the Hungarian GP, and according to some analyses, caused a noticeable change in the performance of the AMR26.
After the first ten rounds this year, Aston Martin was in tenth place in the constructors’ championship, and had an average deficit of 2.99 seconds to pole position in qualifying sessions, equivalent to 3.59%. At the start of the year, the difference was just over two seconds, but it progressively increased as competitors introduced their own updates.
Read more Dominant to the pursuer: why Red Bull lost ground in F1 2026
On circuits with higher power demands, such as Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps, the deficit reached about 5%. The situation was even more concerning in race pace, as Aston Martin lost on average 4.28 seconds per lap to the fastest reference, a difference of 4.91%, also with a growing trend over the first ten races.
The package introduced in Hungary therefore represents an important change compared to the performance previously shown. The team still had another relevant update ahead, as the changes prepared by Honda in the power unit are expected to arrive at the Dutch GP, increasing expectations around the evolution of the project led by Newey.
Read more F1 today: Mercedes prepares package and Red Bull aims for a comeback
