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Aston Martin will introduce its first major upgrade package of the season at next week’s Hungarian Grand Prix, the final round before the summer break. The package is designed primarily to address the weaknesses of the AMR26 chassis, while Honda’s next power-unit improvement is scheduled to arrive after the break at the Dutch Grand Prix.
The scale of the chassis development is substantial enough to be described almost as a B-spec Aston Martin. The car has been lightened, as has the gearbox, and both components have had to pass the FIA homologation tests again. The team is also working under tight pressure, as highlighted in this related report on its effort to deliver the two-car Hungary upgrade.
Aston Martin’s current performance has left Lance Stroll unusually blunt. Asked about the positives of the AMR26 in Spa, he said: “We can only go forward, so that’s positive. I mean, right now, yeah, it’s been pretty terrible. There’s nothing great, there’s nothing we like about our car, there’s no strengths, so we can only get better.”
The British Grand Prix provided a clear demonstration of the problem. Videos circulated showing Stroll fighting severe understeer, including in the fast Copse corner, where he was forced to turn the steering wheel fully to the stop.
Stroll identified several specific limitations: entry instability and braking problems in medium- and low-speed corners, alongside aerodynamic stalling that causes the front of the car to wash out in high-speed turns. He added that some of those aerodynamic effects are difficult to identify through pressure-tap data, making driver feedback especially important for the team’s Silverstone-based aerodynamic group.
The immediate objective is not simply more downforce, but a healthier and more predictable car. “We’re hoping we improve some of the characteristics, more downforce for sure, but some of these bad aero characteristics that we’ve had for a long time,” Stroll said.
He also stressed that Aston Martin’s power deficit and its balance problems are separate issues. The team needs improvements in drivability and power, but it also needs substantially more downforce.
That makes Hungary a decisive test. Because the circuit is not particularly power-sensitive, Stroll believes it will expose whether the chassis work has delivered genuine progress. If Aston Martin remains slow there, he warned that Honda’s later improvement at Zandvoort will not solve the full problem. A more competitive showing, however, would provide an important signal for the rest of the season.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.