Aston Martin’s substantial AMR26 progress at the Hungarian Grand Prix has attracted the attention of its direct Formula 1 rivals, with Carlos Sainz urging Williams to learn from the Silverstone team while Oliver Bearman admitted Haas should not be fighting against it. Fernando Alonso’s first Q2 appearance of the season underlined the improvement delivered by Aston Martin’s major upgrade package.
The reliability of the revised AMR26 still leaves room for improvement, but the developments introduced under Adrian Newey have unquestionably moved Aston Martin forward. The team is no longer rooted to the back of the grid, sending a clear message to its rivals ahead of the second half of the 2026 season.
Aston Martin AMR26 progress reshapes the lower midfield battle
In Formula 1’s other championship—the contest between the midfield and backmarker teams fighting for positions from fifth to 11th in the Constructors’ standings—much of the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend revolved around assessing the performance of the new Aston Martin. The latest car is effectively an AMR26 2.0 following the sweeping B-spec changes introduced at the Hungaroring.
Fernando Alonso even managed to qualify for Q2 in the conventional qualifying session. The two-time world champion used one more set of soft tyres than his immediate rivals, but still finished ahead of both Cadillac cars, the Williams drivers and Oliver Bearman’s Haas.
Although Aston Martin’s recovery remains incomplete, its advance represents a significant development in the battle among the teams occupying the lower half of the 2026 Formula 1 standings. The message heading into the portion of the championship that begins after the summer break is clear: Aston Martin is now back in the fight.
Carlos Sainz wants Williams to follow Aston Martin’s example
Aston Martin’s partial revival prompted contrasting reactions across the grid. Carlos Sainz used the Silverstone team’s improvement as an example for an increasingly troubled Williams, encouraging his team to learn from the progress achieved by Adrian Newey’s project.
“Aston Martin has gone from having worse downforce and a worse chassis than us at Spa to currently having the best downforce among the midfield teams,” Carlos Sainz told reporters in Hungary. “So it is up to us to find the solution to increase the downforce and identify the development path.”
“I see all of this positively, in the sense that the team should look at it and say: ‘Yes, it is possible if you do things properly.’”
Carlos Sainz’s comments reflect how quickly perceptions of Aston Martin have changed. The team entered Hungary following a difficult opening phase of the campaign, but its revised aerodynamic package has provided its direct competitors with a visible benchmark for how much progress can be made through development.
Oliver Bearman frustrated after losing Q2 place to Fernando Alonso
Oliver Bearman was less pleased by Aston Martin’s step forward. The British Ferrari Driver Academy graduate was eliminated during the opening phase of qualifying, surrendering a Q2 position to Fernando Alonso as Haas continued its difficult run of results.
“It has been a difficult weekend so far,” Oliver Bearman said. “The Aston Martins used three sets [of soft tyres in Q1], and that definitely gave them an advantage, but we shouldn’t be fighting them.”
Fernando Alonso’s progression came during a qualifying session in which Lando Norris secured Hungarian Grand Prix pole position for McLaren. For Haas, however, the more immediate concern was its inability to keep Aston Martin behind.
“It really hurts,” Oliver Bearman continued when discussing his Q1 elimination. “It shows that we are really struggling at the moment. But, at the same time, this is probably the circuit with the shortest straights [on the calendar]. So I don’t think [the situation] will remain like this forever.”
“However, it is a warning for us: we need to improve our performance,” Oliver Bearman concluded.
Aston Martin sends rivals a warning for the second half of 2026
Aston Martin has not yet completed its transformation, and the AMR26’s reliability remains an area requiring attention. Nevertheless, Fernando Alonso’s Q2 appearance showed that the team’s upgrades have already changed its competitive position relative to Williams, Haas and Cadillac.
The improvement also arrives at an important stage of the 2026 Formula 1 calendar. With the summer break approaching, Aston Martin has demonstrated that it could become a much more significant factor in the midfield contest during the remaining races.
Carlos Sainz views that turnaround as evidence that Williams can also find a successful development direction. For Oliver Bearman and Haas, it is a more uncomfortable warning: a team they did not expect to be fighting has already moved ahead, raising the pressure to respond when the championship resumes.
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