Fernando Alonso was one of the standout performers of the Dutch Grand Prix, scoring points for only the second time in what has been a difficult Formula 1 season for Aston Martin. Unlike his tenth-place finish in Monte Carlo, however, the Spaniard claimed ninth at Zandvoort without benefiting from penalties or retirements ahead of him. Instead, Fernando Alonso fought directly with the midfield teams and compensated for Aston Martin’s performance limitations with an exceptional opening stint on Soft tyres.
The weekend provided encouraging indications about the benefits delivered by the major AMR26 upgrade package, which had made its debut in Budapest. However, despite the progress on the chassis side, the two-time Formula 1 world champion stressed that significant work still needs to be done with the Honda power unit.
Fernando Alonso praises Aston Martin chassis progress after Zandvoort
The two points collected at Zandvoort provided an important confidence boost after an extremely difficult first half of the season. The result was built on intelligent tyre management, allowing Aston Martin to compensate for its straight-line speed deficit and complete the race with only one pit stop following the first restart.
“It’s fantastic to finish in the points here at Zandvoort. I wasn’t expecting it, so credit has to go to the team for maximising everything we had available,” Fernando Alonso said.
A crucial element behind the final result was Fernando Alonso’s remarkably long run on the Soft tyres, which was extended to 34 laps as Aston Martin attempted to overcome the difficulty of overtaking on track.
“It was a difficult weekend, also because of the drivability of the engine. At the start of the race it was difficult against drivers like Esteban Ocon and Alex Albon, who have spectacular cars on the straights, and I was stuck behind for many laps. In the end Esteban Ocon stopped, Alex Albon and I continued for another eight or ten laps, then Alex Albon came in and I was able to push for another six or seven laps. We tried to make one fewer stop.”
Despite the positive result, Fernando Alonso is keeping his expectations under control when assessing Aston Martin’s prospects for the coming races. Nevertheless, he gave a clear vote of confidence to the changes made to the AMR26, with the team’s improvement also becoming increasingly visible compared with its midfield rivals.
“Points will not automatically become a realistic possibility from now on. I think we brought more parts here, we improved the car and the chassis, and it is another step forward in that respect. In the race, when the tyres wear and you are no longer relying only on tyre grip, you see the true quality of the cars and Aston Martin stands out a little. So we are happy with the direction we have taken with the chassis.”
The Zandvoort performance reinforced the impression that Aston Martin has made an important step forward with its latest development programme, even if the complete technical package remains some way from where Fernando Alonso wants it to be.
Honda power unit remains Aston Martin’s key weakness
The most significant weakness in the package remains the Honda power unit, which showed shortcomings in both drivability and gear changes during the Dutch Grand Prix weekend. Although Honda has been able to take some positives from its latest development, drivability remains an area requiring further work.
“With the engine, we need to wait longer. I don’t think this weekend delivered the result we expected. We don’t have that drivability, those gear changes, everything we had improved with the first version of the Power Unit. We’ve gone back a little to square one with this second engine, so we have two or three races ahead of us to optimise it.”
Fernando Alonso sees ‘no chance’ of Aston Martin points at Monza
The remaining races are expected to present Aston Martin with very different challenges, beginning with Ferrari’s home event at Monza, the next stop on the 2026 Formula 1 calendar. Fernando Alonso expects the Italian circuit to be particularly difficult and has ruled out another points finish there.
“For the rest of the year, there will be circuits where we will perform better and others where we will be worse. Monza will be one of the worst and there will be no chance of scoring points, but we will try to improve this aspect of the drivability.”
Nevertheless, Fernando Alonso believes Aston Martin can take encouragement from the fact that the AMR26’s chassis development appears to be moving in the right direction. That gives the team a clearer understanding of where its remaining work needs to be concentrated.
“If we had arrived here with this package and seen that we were not good in the corners, that would have been worrying. Now that we have a clear direction, it is just a matter of optimising and working hard on this package. Everyone in the team is very motivated now. This result also helps make sure that at eight o’clock tomorrow morning, both factories will be ready to clock in, because everyone wants more.”
