Aston Martin’s secret pays off in Budapest

Fernando Alonso was left scratching his head after a surprising turn of events at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The sudden resurgence of Aston Martin’s AMR25 caught the entire Silverstone garage off guard—and no one more than the two-time world champion himself. After crossing the finish line in fifth place, with teammate Lance Stroll close behind in seventh, Alonso didn’t mince words:

“It’s definitely a surprise—a pleasant one. The good news is we were fast and competitive. The worrying part? We don’t know why. Figuring that out is our top priority over the next few weeks.”

Hungary marked Aston Martin’s strongest weekend of the season—an astonishing turnaround considering their dismal performance just weeks earlier at Spa-Francorchamps, arguably their worst showing of the year. The AMR25 went from underwhelming to unexpectedly dominant in the blink of an eye, sparking both excitement and confusion.

Alonso pointed to one key upgrade: “The front wing we introduced this weekend seems to be the game-changer. If it’s giving us this much performance, that’s great news—but we need to understand why”.

But was that new wing truly the magic bullet? According to Bernie Collins, former race strategist for Aston Martin and current Sky Sports F1 analyst, the answer is nuanced.

Inside the garage: what really changed

“The buzz in the paddock was that Aston Martin paired a new front wing with an older floor design,” Collins explained on the Sky Sports F1 podcast. “That combo worked wonders in Hungary, but it’s not guaranteed to be a consistent fix.”

She added that the team’s performance spike was likely circuit-dependent:

“We’ve raced on high-downforce tracks all season, and the car never looked this good. So yes, the change was dramatic—but it might not hold up everywhere.”

Why the front wing matters

Collins broke down the aerodynamic domino effect: “The old front wing was disrupting airflow to the floor components. A single upgrade—like the new wing—can dramatically improve how the entire car breathes.”

Hungary was proof. Suddenly, the floor, diffuser, and rear wing all came alive, transforming the AMR25 into a serious contender.

Looking ahead: cautious optimism

With 10 races left on the calendar, Aston Martin is fully aware that the road ahead won’t be smooth. Monza, with its low-downforce layout, is expected to be a tough outing. But the team is focused on capitalizing on every opportunity to validate whether this breakthrough is the real deal.

As the F1 circus heads to Zandvoort, all eyes will be on Aston Martin to see if Hungary was a one-off—or the start of something bigger.

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