Fernando Alonso has highlighted Aston Martin’s significant recent progress despite both AMR26s being eliminated in Q1 during qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix. The Spaniard believes the team has recovered around three seconds to the Formula 1 leaders in just two races, praising the quality of the chassis while identifying Honda power unit drivability as one of the next major areas for improvement.
Expectations were high for the complete Aston Martin-Honda package at Zandvoort. Developments introduced by the Silverstone team between Hungary and the Netherlands, combined with a Honda engine featuring improvements made possible by its relatively high ADUO allocation, had once again put the AMR26 under the spotlight.
Fernando Alonso sees Aston Martin progress despite Q1 elimination
The result in Dutch Grand Prix qualifying fell short of those expectations. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were both eliminated immediately in Q1, whereas in Hungary — when their cars were still running the power unit without the latest upgrades — Alonso had cleared the first hurdle and progressed to Q2.
On paper, that appears to represent a clear step backwards. However, assessing Aston Martin’s progress also requires taking into account the fact that Honda’s new engine specification is still sufficiently fresh that several parameters need further calibration to improve its drivability.
The situation fits into a broader recovery effort after a difficult start to the partnership, with Adrian Newey highlighting the improving Aston Martin-Honda relationship as both sides work to close the gap.
Honda Spec 2 changes power unit behaviour
Honda has carried out significant work on the combustion chamber and combustion process for the Spec 2 power unit being used at Zandvoort. Those modifications have changed the behaviour of the engine, leaving the team and its drivers having to adapt to something different.
That helps explain why Fernando Alonso remained positive after qualifying despite both Aston Martin drivers being knocked out in Q1.
“In Budapest we were in Q2. Here we were about a tenth away, or something like that, from getting through. If we look at the gap to the leader, we were 1.3 seconds behind Piastri in Q1.”
“We were used to being an average of 4.5 seconds behind the leader, so we’ve recovered three seconds in two races. That’s fantastic, everything is working as expected. F1 is a difficult sport.”
Fernando Alonso’s assessment suggests that the headline qualifying position does not fully reflect the progress Aston Martin believes it has made. Although the AMR26 remains well away from the front of the grid, its outright deficit has been reduced substantially compared with earlier stages of the season.
Alonso says Aston Martin can unlock more through drivability
Fernando Alonso stressed that there is still performance to extract by making the car easier to drive. The behaviour of the Honda power unit is one of the first areas where progress can be made, making Zandvoort appear more like the first serious test of the new specification before another potential step at Monza.
“The project is long term. There’s still lap time we can gain through improvements to the drivability of the car. Unfortunately, in terms of what we can do at the track, there’s not much room. We have to rely on some big changes at the factory, in the software or whatever else is necessary.”
“Those things have to come from Japan, so it’s not something you can achieve overnight. We’ll probably have to focus more on Monza, where we should make another step forward. There are a couple of things to optimise in the package.”
Honda’s updated specification represents an important part of that development process. Aston Martin’s challenge is now to refine the interaction between the improved AMR26 chassis and the new power unit sufficiently to convert its underlying gains into stronger qualifying and race results.
Aston Martin chassis gives Alonso confidence for the race
Fernando Alonso is clearer about where Aston Martin could have an advantage in the Dutch Grand Prix itself. The AMR26 tends to perform better over long runs, particularly as its rivals’ tyres begin to degrade.
The Spaniard believes Aston Martin’s chassis provides a strong level of mechanical grip, allowing the car to rely less heavily on tyre grip once the rubber begins to lose performance.
“Normally we’re better on race pace because our chassis is very good. When the others have old tyres, or tyres that are worn during the race, we rely more on the good grip from the chassis and less on the tyres and the grip they provide.”
“For that reason, we can do a better job, but at the same time we can’t overtake on the straights. So we’re in a difficult position from that point of view.”
That trade-off captures Aston Martin’s current situation. The AMR26 appears increasingly competitive through the corners and over longer runs, but straight-line performance and power unit drivability continue to restrict what Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll can achieve.
Zandvoort therefore represents another important learning weekend rather than the finished product. The objective is to understand the new Honda specification, improve its drivability and combine that progress with a chassis Fernando Alonso already regards as “very good”, before Aston Martin attempts to make another step forward at Monza.
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