First look at Aston Martin's Hungary GP upgrade emerges after Budapest delay

Aston Martin's torrid start to the season, among many, has been one of F1 2026's major talking points, arriving to the Australian GP season opener with severe engine vibration issues that prevented drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll from finishing the campaign's first few races.

While those vibration issues have mostly been resolved, major power unit and aerodynamic problems have remained, with Aston having entered the season with high expectations under legendary designer-turned-team principal Adrian Newey.

However, the team in green have been consistently at the very back of the grid - fighting, and struggling, against F1 newcomers Cadillac. Their only point scored so far, was via a fortunate P10 from Alonso at a chaotic, penalty-ridden Monaco GP.

Opting to introduce one major package, instead of small, incremental changes, a lot hangs on the updated AMR26 in Budapest, with aerodynamic revisions, combined with significant weight-saving measures, the main area of focus at the Hungaroring. At the next race, taking place after F1's summer break at Zandvoort, Aston are then targeting a significant upgrade to their Honda-supplied power unit.

Arriving at the Hungaroring, after initial delays that were reported by GPblog, team principal Adrian Newey hopes the upgraded AMR26 will provide a "large step" in the right direction, but Aston Martin know there will nevertheless be a lot of work to do before they can become a regular points-scorer post-Hungary.

The spotlight will shine even brighter on the British team given the speculation surrounding Fernando Alonso. Turning 45 in a week's time, the Spaniard could call time on his F1 career, with a decision expected to be made during the summer break.

The Spaniard has, however, maintained that Aston Martin's performance will not dictate his F1 future, but rather the current state of the sport, with the two-time world champion one of the more outspoken critics on the grid with regard to the 2026 regulations.