Fernando Alonso has played down Aston Martin’s prospects for the Belgian Grand Prix, admitting that the team appears to be falling further behind its Formula 1 rivals with every passing weekend. With major chassis and Honda power unit upgrades still to come, the two-time world champion does not expect the current AMR26 to suddenly become a points contender at Spa-Francorchamps.
The Spaniard even joked that the best part of his Sunday could be the 2026 World Cup final between Spain and Argentina rather than the Belgian Grand Prix itself. Behind the humour, however, was another stark assessment of Aston Martin’s lack of progress and the scale of the work required to recover.
Aston Martin faces a long wait for major AMR26 improvements
When Aston Martin and Adrian Newey realised they had produced a car that was significantly behind the competition, the team decided against introducing a series of small upgrades at every event. Instead, the Silverstone operation changed direction and began working on what amounts to a substantially revised B-specification car that will be introduced during the season.
That strategy has inevitably resulted in Aston Martin losing further ground while its rivals continue developing their existing packages. The decline has been particularly evident during the final races before the arrival of the planned improvements.
The AMR26’s underlying difficulties were already visible during Formula 1’s 2026 Barcelona shakedown, when Aston Martin completed very limited mileage compared with most of its rivals. The situation did not improve significantly in Bahrain, where Fernando Alonso finished well down the order and the team’s lack of performance became even clearer.
Honda is expected to introduce its more powerful ADUO specification at the Dutch Grand Prix on 23 August, while a major chassis upgrade is scheduled to arrive at next weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix. The question for Aston Martin is whether those developments will provide sufficient progress to convince Fernando Alonso that the project remains capable of delivering the results he wants.
Fernando Alonso expects another difficult Belgian Grand Prix
Fernando Alonso opened his media duties in the Spa-Francorchamps paddock with a typically dry remark about Sunday’s sporting schedule.
“The best thing on Sunday will be the match,” Fernando Alonso joked—or perhaps did not joke entirely—when referring to the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina.
The two-time Formula 1 world champion then offered a blunt assessment of Aston Martin’s competitive position. He argued that the team is still effectively racing the same car it used during pre-season testing, while its opponents have continued to introduce developments and move further ahead.
“We have the same car as we had at the Bahrain tests,” Fernando Alonso said. “The others are improving and we are progressing slowly. We seem slower every weekend.”
Aston Martin was among the most disappointing teams during the opening Bahrain testing period. Fernando Alonso ended the second day almost four seconds away from the benchmark, while early questions emerged over both the AMR26 chassis and the new Honda power unit.
Fernando Alonso cautious about Aston Martin upgrade promises
Fernando Alonso also adopted a cautious tone when discussing the upgrades scheduled for Hungary and the Netherlands. Aston Martin has previously expected new components to provide substantial lap-time improvements, only for those predicted gains to fail to materialise once the car reached the circuit.
“We have some experience of trying to predict performance improvements that then do not happen,” Fernando Alonso warned. “I expect that we will be able to demonstrate the direction. The philosophy of the car is not the right one, and we are changing it while also making several modifications to reduce the weight.”
The decision to revise the car’s philosophy reflects the scale of Aston Martin’s problems. Adrian Newey’s AMR26 features several technically ambitious ideas, particularly around its front-end architecture and active aerodynamics. An analysis of the different 2026 front-end concepts highlighted the team’s focus on feeding stable airflow towards the floor rather than simply pursuing maximum local downforce.
However, innovative individual solutions have not translated into a competitive overall package. Excess weight, energy management and the performance of the Honda power unit have all contributed to Aston Martin’s difficult start to the season.
Points would represent an enormous leap for Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso does not believe it would be realistic to expect Aston Martin to move directly from the back of the field into regular points contention. Even if the upcoming upgrades confirm that the team is finally pursuing the correct development direction, the Spaniard believes expectations must remain controlled.
“We are at the bottom of the standings, and thinking that we can suddenly fight for points would be an incredible leap, so we have to remain calm,” Fernando Alonso explained.
The nature of the remaining circuits may also expose different weaknesses within the AMR26. Monza, for example, places a premium on straight-line efficiency and electrical energy deployment because the Italian circuit contains relatively few corners.
“There will be tracks such as Monza, where there are only six corners and we will depend on energy,” Fernando Alonso added. “We have not made much progress in that area.”
The concern is supported by Aston Martin’s early straight-line figures. During testing, the Honda-powered car was among the slowest through the speed traps, with Bahrain telemetry highlighting Aston Martin’s power unit deficit relative to several rivals.
Can Aston Martin’s recovery plan convince Fernando Alonso?
Aston Martin’s decision to pursue a heavily revised car rather than a steady sequence of smaller upgrades is a high-risk strategy. If the new chassis establishes a better technical foundation and Honda’s ADUO package improves energy deployment, the team could begin reducing its deficit during the second half of the season.
If the expected gains do not appear, however, the failed predictions referenced by Fernando Alonso will become even more significant. The two-time world champion has already made clear that he is unwilling to create unrealistic expectations while Aston Martin remains at the bottom of the competitive order.
For now, the Belgian Grand Prix represents another weekend of damage limitation. Fernando Alonso hopes the upcoming developments will at least demonstrate that Aston Martin has finally identified the correct direction, but his remarks at Spa leave little doubt about the present reality: as other teams improve, the AMR26 appears to be moving backwards.
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