Aston Martin impresses at Hungaroring with Alonso fifth and Stroll sixth: realistic goals for points, podium difficult. Aston Martin impresses in Hungarian GP qualifying.

Aston Martin flies, Alonso is 5th
One of the biggest surprises on Hungarian Saturday was definitely Aston Martin. The two green cars secured fifth and sixth positions in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, marking their first double top-6 qualifying result since the 2023 Australian Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso, who had to skip FP1 on Friday due to muscle pain in his back, stopped just over a tenth of a second from pole position with the fifth fastest time, while Lance Stroll was only 17 thousandths slower than his teammate.

According to the Spanish driver, who spoke in the mixed zone after Q3, this performance leap for Aston Martin is mainly due to the characteristics of the Hungaroring, which better suit the AMR25 and allow it to express its full potential. “We haven’t made massive changes to the car compared to seven days ago,” Alonso said to journalists at the track. “There are no new parts for anyone for this race. The only variable is the track. The circuit’s characteristics seem to suit our car, apparently. It would be great to understand why the car is in this privileged position here because if we do, we could exploit it better in the next races.”

Podium difficult, points are the goal
The veteran of the grid, who turned 44 on July 29, does not want to get carried away and dismissed dreams of what would be an incredible podium finish, especially on the same track where he won his first F1 race 22 years ago: “I think it will be difficult, to be honest. I’d like us to finish in the same positions as the start. A fifth and sixth place would be good points for the team before the summer break. That will be the first goal. If we manage to gain some positions, that would be good. But I think we also have to understand there are threats from behind. There are fast cars: Max is behind, Lewis as well. So it won’t be easy.” – the former Ferrari driver pointed out.

“This was an important result for the team, especially after such a difficult weekend at Spa just a few days ago,” confirmed Lance Stroll. “The car was very fun to drive in qualifying. We missed pole by a tenth and it’s fantastic to start sixth tomorrow. The track really seems suited to the car, and with today’s conditions, everything went our way and was just right for us. We’ll see what happens tomorrow, but it’s nice to start further up, and we’ll see what we can do. Hopefully, we can score some points. We will definitely fight.”