Aston Martin is in a race against time to ensure both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll receive the team’s highly anticipated upgrade package for the Hungarian Grand Prix. While the Silverstone-based outfit remains optimistic that both AMR26 cars will feature the new specification at the Hungaroring, the availability of spare parts is expected to remain extremely limited.
The team has been working around the clock to complete the production of every new component required for what is widely regarded as Aston Martin’s biggest upgrade package of the 2026 Formula 1 season. However, with deadlines approaching rapidly, there are still concerns about whether enough replacement parts will be ready should anything go wrong during the race weekend.
Aston Martin pushing hard to complete both upgrade packages
Speaking about the enormous effort currently underway at Aston Martin’s Silverstone headquarters, team principal Mike Krack admitted that delivering two fully updated cars to Hungary remains a significant challenge.
“Will we be ready in Budapest with two cars and enough new parts for the planned upgrades? That’s the million-dollar question.”
Krack made it clear that Aston Martin Racing’s headquarters is currently operating at full capacity to manufacture every component needed to equip both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll with the new package in time for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Both drivers and the entire team have been eagerly awaiting these long-promised developments, which are expected to allow the AMR26 to recover significant ground on the midfield after an extremely disappointing start to the 2026 Formula 1 season. Aston Martin has spent much of the year at the back of the grid, often finding itself behind even the newest team, Cadillac.
“Everyone is working flat out to produce the components and prepare the cars. It’s a huge undertaking when you choose to approach it this way.”
“You’re always trying to push the deadlines as far as possible. Right now, everyone at the AMRTC is making an enormous effort. I’m naturally an optimistic person, so I believe we’ll have two cars ready to race. To be honest, though, I don’t think we’ll have five spare parts available for every single component.”
Limited spare parts remain a concern
The extremely tight production schedule means Aston Martin may not have a complete inventory of replacement parts available for every upgraded component fitted to the AMR26.
Because of this, the engineering team has already developed several contingency plans in case one of the new parts is damaged during practice, qualifying or the race without an immediate replacement being available.
In other words, Aston Martin’s extensive upgrade package will still need to deliver a clear performance improvement even if certain elements are unavailable during the weekend.
“You always have to prepare different scenarios. What happens if we have one component but another one is missing? You can’t allow yourself to depend on a single missing part, otherwise you risk not being able to run the upgrade at all.”
“That’s why we’ve already prepared alternative plans. What do we do if that component isn’t available? Can we still race with this configuration? Even then, we won’t have a complete backup for every individual part. However, I believe everyone has done an excellent job preparing alternative solutions and emergency plans in case one or two components don’t arrive in time.”
An AMR26 ‘B’ expected to transform Aston Martin’s season
With what many inside the paddock are already referring to as an unofficial “AMR26 B” specification, expectations surrounding Aston Martin are naturally beginning to rise.
Those expectations are not focused on the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, where the team expects one of its most difficult weekends of the season because of the circuit characteristics. Instead, all attention is now centred on the Hungaroring, where the comprehensive upgrade package is expected to make its competitive debut.
Even so, Mike Krack has chosen to remain cautious when discussing what Aston Martin might realistically achieve during the remainder of the championship: “I think we need to be careful with our expectations. We’re still quite a long way behind both the leading teams and even the midfield. So the first thing we need to do is simply get the car on track in Hungary.”
“First we need to make sure everything is ready because the deadlines are incredibly tight, and we can’t forget that. Only then will we truly understand where we stand.”
“The most important thing for all of us is getting back out there and racing. For the team, that’s absolutely fundamental and it’s our primary objective. After that, we’ll see where we can get to. It’s difficult to make predictions because, as you know, every circuit is different. Sometimes a car’s weaknesses become more apparent, while at other tracks its strengths are highlighted. So the situation will continue to change throughout the season. We’re all looking forward to improving the car and discovering just how competitive we can become.”
Honda preparing its own major power unit upgrade
Aston Martin’s development programme is not limited to chassis and aerodynamic improvements. Significant work is also taking place on the power unit side as Honda prepares its latest engine evolution developed under the ADUO concessions.
The new power unit is expected to make its competitive debut later in the season, adding another important element to Aston Martin’s ambitious recovery plan.
Shintaro Orihara, Honda’s Head of Engineering and Chief Engineer for the Japanese manufacturer’s Formula 1 project, provided an update on the development of the new engine.
“We still have three weeks before arriving in the Netherlands. Right now, the engine intended for that race is on the dyno completing a series of tests ahead of its debut. I’d say the progress is good. I’m not saying we’ve already reached the maximum level of performance, but development is progressing exactly as we planned. We’re excited to introduce the new power unit in the Netherlands.”
Orihara also expressed confidence that the development programme is progressing according to expectations.
“So far, the initial results have been in line with what we expected. As far as our understanding of how the engine operates and the overall development process are concerned, the progress matches our expectations.”
If both the major AMR26 chassis upgrade and Honda’s new ADUO-developed power unit deliver the improvements Aston Martin is hoping for, the second half of the 2026 Formula 1 season could finally mark the true beginning of the team’s campaign after an extremely difficult opening stretch.
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