Aston Martin received praise from Guenther Steiner after showing progress at the Hungarian GP, the last round before the Formula 1 summer break. The former Haas boss stated that the British team “cannot be criticized” after the improvement demonstrated with the new update package.
Read more F1: Alonso’s future could trigger changes in the driver market
After spending the first ten rounds of the season under heavy criticism, Aston Martin brought to Hungary its first major update package of the year, with changes so deep that, in practice, they represented a completely new car.
The result was immediate. The team gained performance and surpassed Cadillac, Williams, and Haas, returning to fight for positions in the midfield pack. Fernando Alonso advanced to Q2 and finished the 11th round of the season in 14th, just behind Lance Stroll, who was 13th.
Steiner highlighted Aston Martin’s recovery and also stated that he expects a new performance leap with the Honda engine update, scheduled for the Zandvoort race after the summer break. On the Red Flags podcast, the former executive praised the team’s work:
Read more F1: Mekies indicates the end of Red Bull’s intense update program
“They did a very good job, and where did they end up? As we said, they gained two seconds back. They are still outside the points zone, but it is fair to acknowledge. I mean, you can’t criticize where they were and where they got to. They passed Williams, Haas, and Cadillac. All those guys are saying: ‘Yes, we bring updates, we do this, that, and the other,’ and it doesn’t work.”
“Aston Martin built a completely new car in a very short period of time and, obviously, it’s not where they want to be, being Aston Martin, but at least they took some satisfaction from it, because I think we all doubted they would regain performance. But they did. Now, if the new engine also comes, that will help as well,” concluded the former executive.
Read more F1: Brundle sees Ferrari as a technical benchmark after innovations in 2026
