{"id":838475,"date":"2026-08-01T20:44:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T20:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/838475\/"},"modified":"2026-08-01T20:44:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T20:44:11","slug":"aston-martin-backed-to-transform-f1-fortunes-over-next-two-years-by-former-driver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/838475\/","title":{"rendered":"Aston Martin backed to transform F1 fortunes over next two years by former driver"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Former Formula 1 driver <a href=\"https:\/\/www.motorsport.com\/driver\/david-coulthard\/68\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">David Coulthard<\/a> believes Aston Martin will become the championship&#8217;s most improved team over the next two years.<\/p>\n<p>He predicted that the Silverstone-based outfit will be winning grands prix despite a torrid start to 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on the <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/0rcjCa3LpNE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-custom-text=\"1\">Up To Speed podcast<\/a> alongside co-host Jolie Sharpe, Coulthard offered a strong defence of Aston Martin&#8217;s long-term project during a mid-season review ahead of the August summer break.<\/p>\n<p>As Aston Martin entered the new regulatory era, expectations for the team were exceptionally high. With Adrian Newey on board, two-time champion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.motorsport.com\/driver\/fernando-alonso\/489\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Fernando Alonso<\/a> at the wheel, a brand-new Honda works power unit partnership, a state-of-the-art wind tunnel, and Lawrence Stroll&#8217;s continuous financial backing, the team appeared primed to challenge at the front.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Instead, the season has proved disastrous. Heading into the summer break, Aston Martin sits 10th in the constructors&#8217; championship with one point, scored by Alonso at the Monaco Grand Prix when several other drivers were hit with penalties.<\/p>\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784916790_842_fernando-alonso-aston-martin-r.jpg\" alt=\"Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" loading=\"lazy\"\/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"title\">Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing<\/p>\n<p class=\"photographer\">Photo by: Guido De Bortoli \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>While Coulthard acknowledged that the car is currently well off the pace, the former driver remains convinced a turnaround is inevitable.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Mark my words, Jolie, as true as we are not sitting in the same room, they will be the biggest improving team over the next two years,&#8221; Coulthard stated.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;And I will predict they will win grands prix in the next two years.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Aston Martin introduced an extensive upgrade package at the Hungarian Grand Prix. While neither\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.motorsport.com\/driver\/lance-stroll\/20950\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Lance Stroll<\/a> nor Alonso scored points, they showed a jump in performance. Stroll finished 13th, with Alonso in 14th.<\/p>\n<p>Stroll described it as a &#8220;huge step&#8221; while speaking to Motorsport.com and other media after the race at the Hungaroring. &#8220;Yeah, really good. We took a huge step this weekend, and we&#8217;re not in the front of the midfield but in the mix,&#8221; the Canadian explained.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We know we need to find a lot of power and just keep finding performance, more downforce, more power and just have to keep pushing forward.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>            We want your opinion!<\/p>\n<p class=\"mt-auto\">What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?<\/p>\n<p>            <a href=\"#\" class=\"ms-link text-link font-bold\">Take our 5 minute survey.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mt-1 text-body\">&#8211; The Motorsport.com Team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard believes Aston Martin will become the championship&#8217;s most improved team over the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":838476,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[410943,8541,64,63,874,817,813,816,31948,405277,85,1511],"class_list":["post-838475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-aston-martin-backed-to-transform-f1-fortunes-over-next-two-years-by-former-driver","tag-aston-martin-racing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-david-coulthard","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-hungaroring","tag-hungaroring-pirelli-test","tag-sports","tag-trendingteam"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=838475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/838476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=838475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=838475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=838475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}