Aston Martin Hungary Upgrade: Newey Opens Up on 2026 Crisis, Health Issues and Keeping Alonso

Adrian Newey has given his most honest interview yet about Aston Martin’s disastrous 2026 season. Speaking ahead of the British Grand Prix, the legendary designer and team principal held nothing back. He covered everything: what went wrong with the car, a personal health battle, and why the Aston Martin Hungary upgrade could be the most important moment of the team’s year.

How Did Aston Martin’s 2026 Crisis Begin?

Aston Martin did not start serious work on its 2026 car until mid-March 2025, and did not get a model into the wind tunnel until mid-April. That left the team several months behind rivals, entering the season hampered by power unit issues, excess weight and aerodynamic problems.

Newey admitted the team had “a very talented group of people, but as an organisation we weren’t yet working together as well as you would like.” He also revealed they “were relying on tools and processes that had been patched and bodged for years,” some of which traced back to the Jordan team days at Silverstone. “At some point, a system that’s just patch-on-patch stops being fit for purpose.”

On the weight problem, Newey was blunt: “On the chassis side, we’re quite a long way overweight. Some of that comes from integrating the power unit and dealing with vibration issues we’ve had to work through with Honda, but we also didn’t do as good a job as we should have on our side at saving weight. When you design in a rush, weight is the first thing that suffers.”

He also took personal responsibility for the aerodynamic direction: “We took a bold direction, which was largely pushed by me, without the luxury of exploring multiple concepts in depth because time was against us. I wouldn’t say the direction we’ve taken is fundamentally wrong, but it has thrown up challenges we didn’t anticipate.”

Aston Martin have scored a solitary point in eight grands prix, and their short-term struggles were made worse by what Newey called the “painful decision” not to bring regular small updates like the rest of the grid on a race-by-race basis. We covered Newey’s initial comments on the car earlier this season in our piece Newey Slams Aston Martin’s 2026 Project.

Newey Reveals His Health Battle

The 67-year-old attended the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in March before missing the following four races. Reports revealed that Newey had spent a period working from home after a bout of illness saw him hospitalised.

Breaking his silence, Newey said: “I’m ok now, but it’s been a difficult period. It never rains but it pours. In truth, I was not 100 per cent last year. I had to balance health and work much more carefully.”

Newey revealed that his health problems date back to 2025, forcing him to balance his health and work with greater care. He paid tribute to the team’s handling of the situation, saying it had a minimal impact on the team’s recovery.

The Aston Martin Hungary Upgrade Explained

While there has been talk of a B-spec car, the changes do not amount to a full concept shift. The revisions are instead focused on addressing the key weaknesses of the AMR26: a lack of downforce and excess weight.

Here is what will change at Budapest:

• The chassis and gearbox architecture remain the same, but weight has been taken out of both, requiring re-homologation and crash testing of the forward chassis.
• The front suspension is unchanged. The rear suspension is slightly revised. A new nose and substantially revised aerodynamic surfaces have been developed.
• Newey is predicting “a large step,” but is reluctant to put specific numbers on the improvement because the team’s simulation tools are not yet sophisticated enough.

Newey is convinced this approach will prove to be in the team’s best long-term interests, with the upgrade confirmed for the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 24-26.

Can the Upgrade Keep Alonso at Aston Martin?

The Hungarian Grand Prix update carries more weight than just performance. It could decide Alonso’s Formula 1 future. The Spaniard has repeatedly stated he will decide whether to continue with Aston Martin, or even in F1 at all, during the summer break, and Hungary is the last race before that holiday.

Alonso’s future is highly uncertain as the 44-year-old is starting to run out of time to make the struggling Aston Martin project work, with the team slipping well behind newcomer Cadillac as F1’s slowest team.

Newey is clear on how important the upgrade is for keeping his star driver. “Fernando is really looking forward to the upgrade and, if it performs, we hope he’ll be in the cockpit for another season. Given his experience, his feel for the car, his ability to guide development, he’s a tremendous asset. But he wants to see clear, tangible progress. If we can show that we’re moving decisively in the right direction, he’s absolutely committed to being behind the wheel.”

Looking Ahead: Can Aston Martin Turn It Around?

Newey said the team’s response after the initial shock was “actually very positive.” The whole group pulled together around two clear priorities: pulling out of the hole with a major update before the August break, and building the foundations properly for the future.

Over the second half of the season, Aston still has some decisions to make about how much to invest in 2026 versus shifting focus to 2027. In theory, the team should have more budget cap space available because it has not deployed as many new parts as its rivals, allowing a bigger push in the second half of the year.

Newey remains optimistic about 2027 and beyond, noting the team is already in the early research stages for the next car, with a goal of an earlier production release. The Aston Martin Hungary upgrade is not just about saving 2026. It is about proving to Alonso, to the fans, and to the whole paddock that the Newey project is alive and moving forward.

For more on the wider picture in F1 right now, check out our coverage of Norris’ Title Defence Falling Apart and Russell’s Austrian GP thriller.