Fernando Alonso believes the Hungaroring suits the AMR25 after both Aston Martin drivers came within a whisker of taking pole position for Formula 1‘s Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Silverstone-based squad had been showing positive one-lap pace through all three free practice sessions, which continued when it really mattered in qualifying.
Alonso and Lance Stroll became genuine challengers for pole, finishing fifth and sixth respectively, just over a tenth of a second behind the eventual pole time set by Charles Leclerc.
Alonso revealed to media including Motorsport Week that the tight and twisty profile of the circuit appeared to be a match made in heaven for the AMR25 package.
“We didn’t change the car massively since Spa seven days ago, no new parts for anybody at this race,” he said.
“Just the layout, the characteristics of the circuit, is suiting our car, apparently.
“It would be nice to understand this, why the car is operating in this sweet spot here because, if we understand that, we can use it in the next few races.”
Alonso was adamant that the car, which has not been a particularly competitive one across a number of races this year, is as good as it can be on every circuit, amid changes to its floor in previous races.
“I’m quite happy, and I feel the team is happy with all the upgrades we brought this year,” he said.
“The Imola floor, the Silverstone floor, and the front wing at Spa – all three of them, they were just delivering exactly what we were hoping for, and what we saw in the wind tunnel. So the correlation is very good.
“It’s true that for some circuits and some speeds, some floors can work in a different way, and some will be better in certain circuits, and some in another.
“I think we put the fastest car possible on track every weekend.”
Alonso added that he was aiming for himself and Stroll to try and finish where they will start, saying it would be a huge morale boost for the team ahead of the summer break, after what has been a tricky season for the team so far.
“I would like if we can finish in the same positions as we start, fifth and sixth will be lovely in terms of points for the team before the summer break – that will be the first target,” he said.
“If we can recover any places, it would be good. But I think we need to understand as well that there are some threats from behind, some fast cars – Max and Lewis are behind, so it’s not going to be easy.”
Stroll: ‘It’s been a while’ since Aston Martin car felt this good
Stroll corroborated Alonso’s theory that the circuit was a good fit for the car, again saying it was the primary reason for the performance, and not the aforementioned floor changes.
“Yeah, more than the floors and stuff, I think it’s the track, it really suits our car,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“I think when we put on the downforce and the conditions are cool and there’s a lot of wind, we’re kind of where we need to be.
“For the performance of the car, all weekend it’s been there, it’s been the windows since the first lap of Q1.
“We’ve been kind of tough, 6-7 just most of the weekend. It’s just really nice to drive it.”
When asked when the car felt this good to drive, Stroll quipped: “It’s been a while.”
READ MORE – Max Verstappen at a loss as ‘nothing works’ for Red Bull in F1 Hungarian GP qualifying
The new wind tunnel is correlating! They have Newey, and Honda won’t be making a duff engine. Max will be wishing he’d moved, next year.