'We shouldn't be racing them' - Aston Martin rival's 'pain' over its F1 car gains

Ollie Bearman has revealed his 'pain' at Haas being caught by backmarker team Aston Martin at the Hungarian Grand Prix. 

Aston Martin joined Formula 1's midfield battle at the Hungarian Grand Prix as it brought a significant upgrade package to the track, with Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso finishing in 13th and 14th places respectively. 

In qualifying, Alonso had become the first Aston Martin driver this season to escape Q1, with Bearman venting his frustration after the session having fallen fractionally short of the Spaniard. 

"It's really painful," he said. "It shows that we're really fighting and struggling at the moment. 

"But at the same time, it's probably the track that suits them the most with the shortest straight, so I don't think it will remain like that forever.

"But it's still a reminder for us that we need to up our game."

Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas also pointed to the lack of straights in Hungary contributing to Aston Martin's gains, but this sliver of hope could soon disappear for other struggling teams, with the British marque debuting its revised Honda power unit at a filming day in Hungary on Wednesday. 

This power unit will feature at the Dutch Grand Prix when F1 returns from its summer shutdown. 

After a strong start to the year, Haas has slid down the order. Thought to be the only team operating below the cost cap level, the team has been unable to keep pace with the upgrades of its rivals.

Having finished last of the classified runners and two laps down in Hungary, Bearman was asked how much of the struggle in Hungary were down to him versus the car.

"We're seeing that the car is not performing as it should, and yeah, I feel like I've done a good job," he said.

"I've done my maximum and tried to get the most out of the car, but the feeling has been nothing like what I had in Spa, and we're measuring big deltas in terms of loads compared to that event and compared to the other car. 

"So, yeah, it's the car. I mean, it's been a horrible, horrible weekend, and it's just a a sign of how poor we are in terms of inconsistencies, because if it's not me, which it has been this weekend, and maybe one or two others, it's Esteban's car that is suddenly missing 10, 15 points of load. 

"So, you're kind of just hoping you're going to be on the good side, and if you are, you can have a decent weekend, and if you're not, you're going to have a really, really long one. We had a long one."