Aston Martin had to fly in spare parts following Stroll’s crash

Aston Martin is finally set to take a major step in the right direction in Hungary. The British team had started the new season facing major problems under the new regulations for chassis and engines – and had therefore decided back in the spring that the first, problem-ridden car would not be developed any further. They preferred to save the money earmarked for development within the budget cap – and bring a completely new car for the summer.

Aston Martin has put this plan into action for the chassis for the Hungarian Grand Prix. The new Honda engine won’t be introduced until Zandvoort after the summer break – but the major aerodynamic upgrade was already on the track at the Hungaroring on Friday. Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin was even greener than usual in the first two practice sessions: the team had sprayed his car liberally with FloViz paint to analyse the airflow around the new parts.

Alonso drives, Stroll stands

The catch, however, was that Lance Stroll’s day was over roughly halfway through the first free practice session. With a problem with a suspension component, the Canadian spun and came to a halt at the side of the track. He also missed the second session late on Friday afternoon because the car wasn’t ready in time. A bitter blow, then, for Stroll, who lost valuable time on the track with the new package – but above all a bitter blow for the engineers and mechanics at Aston Martin, who now have to reassemble the car from scratch – and have significantly less data to analyse.

Former F1 driver (105 GPs) and current Aston Martin brand ambassador Pedro de la Rosa said of Lance Stroll’s crash: “It was a suspension failure. We were confident that this wouldn’t happen with Fernando’s car, and that’s why he went out on track and drove in the second session. However, we weren’t able to repair Lance’s car in time due to a lack of spare parts.” De la Rosa revealed on Friday evening: “It’s a mixed bag: some parts can be repaired on site, others are being delivered here.” From the factory in England – flown in overnight. But everything should be ready for Stroll by Saturday.

Upgrades seem to be working

Following Stroll’s crash, the team promptly stepped up the programme for Alonso. De la Rosa: “We had to rush things a bit. We couldn’t test as many tyre compounds in the long runs or as many laps as we’d have liked, but on the whole, Fernando was able to stick to his plan as intended.”

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Despite the repair work and the lack of data, the verdict after the first day with the new car is positive. De la Rosa: “Although one car retired, it was a good day. We’re still learning a lot. There’s still plenty we need to test, and hopefully we’ll have a bit more time on the track with both cars on Saturday, but the preliminary results are promising. The upgrades are working more or less as we expected.”