Aston Martin’s ‘phenomenal’ F1 turnaround in Hungary explained

Aston Martin’s stunning performance at the Hungarian Grand Prix has been explained.

After qualifying fifth and sixth on the grid, Fernando Alonso finished fifth with Lance Stroll seventh as Aston Martin enjoyed their most successful weekend of the 2025 F1 season in Hungary.

The result, which came just a week after a miserable Belgian Grand Prix, lifts Aston Martin up to sixth in the constructors’ championship heading into the F1 summer break.

Aston Martin’s drastic turnaround has been put down to key changes made to the team’s 2025 car.

"So the running discussion in the paddock is they're running a new front wing with an old floor,” former Aston Martin strategist Bernie Collins told the Sky Sports F1 podcast.

"Some of it will be circuit-specific, but the turnaround has been phenomenal, given we have been at high downforce tracks this year and the car has performed nothing like it did this weekend.

"So, something in their new front wing - and it's hard, I guess, for people to realise that just one component or one assembly can make such a big difference to car performance - but if the old front wing, something about how the air was flowing off that affects the remainder of the car.

“So if the old front wing wasn't allowing components in the floor to work, then a single component like the front wing may allow better airflow to the rest of the car. Suddenly, the whole floor is working better, the diffuser's working better, the rear wing's working better.

“So just getting one assembly correct - particularly front wing or a front brake duct, anything like that that's affecting a lot of the airflow further back in the car - it can turn your performance around quite quickly.

"We need to go to more circuits to see that that holds across a range of downforce levels. But such positive signs for Aston Martin."

Why it left Fernando Alonso concerned

Aston Martin were at a loss to explain their sudden competitiveness, and that was cause for concern for two-time world champion Alonso.

“It is a surprise, definitely it is a surprise. It's a nice surprise,” the Spaniard said. "The good thing is that we were competitive and we were fast. The concerning thing is that we don't know why.

“We need this week at the factory [before the mandatory summer shutdown] to analyse exactly what are the differences between Spa and Hungary, what are the differences on the car as well, on the set-up, on the aero devices that we were racing with.

“Obviously, the main theme for us was the front wing that was new this weekend. If that front wing gives us that much performance, that's very good news, but I think that has to be understood at the moment.”