{"id":824150,"date":"2026-07-24T23:53:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T23:53:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/824150\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T23:53:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T23:53:08","slug":"what-fernando-alonso-needs-to-keep-racing-plus-ferrari-leads-early-in-hungary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/824150\/","title":{"rendered":"What Fernando Alonso needs to keep racing. Plus: Ferrari leads early in Hungary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prime Tire Newsletter | This is The Athletic\u2019s F1 newsletter. Sign up here<\/a> to receive Prime Tire directly in your inbox twice a week during the season and weekly in the offseason.<\/p>\n

Welcome back to Prime Tire, where today I\u2019m thinking about the biggest story so far at the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix:\u00a0Aston Martin\u2019s new car.<\/p>\n

But before I get to that, a quick ask today: If you know someone who could use more free, accessible F1 coverage, please forward this email their way.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m Alex, and Luke Smith will be along later.<\/p>\n

Decisions: Can F1 give Alonso the adrenaline he wants?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a big weekend in F1.<\/p>\n

Most of the paddock is looking forward to summer vacations, with the mandatory\u00a0factory shutdown period<\/a>\u00a0just around the corner. George Russell urgently needs to hit back\u00a0in the intra-Mercedes title fight.\u00a0And Aston Martin has, essentially, a new car in Budapest.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s considered a new car because of just how many parts the team has changed since Spa on July 5. So much work had to be done. Aston\u2019s mechanics had to break the curfew conditions for team staff last night to get its two cars ready for today\u2019s practice (this is allowed if necessary).<\/p>\n

Almost every area of the AMR26 has been refined or lightened.\u00a0And I want to know\u00a0what this means for Aston star driver Fernando Alonso.<\/p>\n

The green team\u2019s struggles are already\u00a0horribly familiar<\/a>\u00a0for Alonso this year, particularly as its first Honda engine has been\u00a0largely off the pace<\/a>\u00a0of the leaders. But\u00a0Honda will be unleashing its first upgraded engine at Zandvoort in late August.<\/p>\n

With major car updates coming in two parts, it will be difficult to gauge how successful Aston\u2019s aerodynamic work is in Hungary: The car is still being held back by the Honda engine\u2019s lack of internal combustion power grunt and its\u00a0weak engine electrical deployment<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s still a big moment for Aston.<\/p>\n

Firstly because Aston\u2019s car was\u00a0significantly overweight<\/a>\u00a0during its\u00a0awful start<\/a>\u00a0to the season. Making new aero parts fresh out of a lighter material will bring an\u00a0instant lap-time gain,\u00a0even if the extra downforce benefits of more sophisticated aero isn\u2019t what the team hopes.The early indication is that\u00a0these are an improvement.\u00a0(The car also looks slightly less ugly now, IMO.)
\nSecondly, the 44-year-old Alonso has suggested driving the upgraded Aston will help him figure out\u00a0whether he wants to keep racing in F1\u00a0in 2027.The Spaniard is one of two drivers in question in regards to the\u00a02027 market<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 along with Max Verstappen at Red Bull (although the Dutchman is looking increasingly likely to\u00a0stay put\u00a0there, given the lack of alternative seats at front-running teams).As Alonso said at the FIA news conference ahead of Budapest, \u201cI do have a contract (for 2027),\u00a0so I\u2019m not moving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Again\u00a0\u2014 when it comes to Alonso\u2019s F1 tenure \u2014\u00a0we have to cover two things first.<\/p>\n

One, Alonso\u2019s contract firmness comes down to various options in the multi-year deal he agreed to in early 2024. So, presumably, he both has a contract option he can choose to take up and one he can choose to walk away from.
\nAnd secondly,\u00a0as Luke explained here<\/a>, there has been speculation in the paddock that\u00a0Alonso is considering a shock switch back to Alpine next year.<\/p>\n

But, the bigger element to driving in F1 next year, at least according to Alonso\u2019s public utterances, is how he feels in the latest\u00a0new car era<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy decision for next year is more about the rules,\u201d\u00a0Alonso said after the Belgian GP. \u201cDriving these cars in places like Spa, or Silverstone (at the) last race, is not what I dream of.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alonso said this because of how quickly the new engines ran out of electrical power and slowed down two of F1\u2019s classic tracks, where taking high-speed corners at full pelt was what the drivers\u00a0used to love<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Then at the Hungary news conference yesterday, Alonso said: \u201cIt\u2019s not a problem with the competitiveness of the team. It\u2019s just a problem of whether F1 gives me the adrenaline that I need to live.\u201d<\/p>\n

And this is why the Aston upgrade won\u2019t be the most decisive factor in Alonso\u2019s F1 future decision.\u00a0He will want to see the team making progress with its new aero parts, compared to what its design tools said was possible.<\/p>\n

But until he samples the engine rule changes coming in 2027 that will\u00a0reduce the engine\u2019s reliance on electrical systems<\/a>\u00a0and help return classic tracks to their glory, Alonso won\u2019t have all the answers he wants.<\/p>\n

There are other aspects that can\u2019t be ignored \u2014 such as high F1 driver salaries and the championship\u2019s global status.\u00a0But whether Alonso really enjoys driving a car he thinks can enter title contention will be the deciding factor to staying in F1.<\/p>\n

Now, over to Luke.<\/p>\n

Inside the Paddock with Luke Smith: F1 drivers, they\u2019re just like us (sometimes)<\/p>\n

Many F1 drivers enjoy the luxury of traveling by private jet around the European-centric middle portion of the season. But for some, particularly the youngsters, a budget-friendly flight is good enough.<\/p>\n

Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson posted a selfie alongside his teammate Arvid Lindblad on an EasyJet flight out of Belgium last Sunday, sparking amusement among fans who had not expected two F1 drivers to put faith in the budget airline.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve not got much money,\u201d\u00a0said Lindblad, the 18-year-old rookie. \u201cSo I\u2019m still going on normal commercial flights. There\u2019s nothing wrong with that. If I can save a bit of money, I may as well, even if I have more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindblad revealed he was due to be in the aisle seat on the plane out of Belgium, but a passenger already sitting there was \u201cvery upset\u201d at the suggestion of moving, so he graciously took the middle seat.\u00a0(As a big aisle seat fan myself, I couldn\u2019t fathom not taking what was his!)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been nearly three years since Lawson made his F1 debut, but he revealed he still flies coach \u201cquite often,\u201d as direct business class flights to Nice (the closest international airport to Monaco, where most F1 drivers live) can be hard to come by.<\/p>\n

Lawson\u2019s preference for flights is a window seat as he struggles to sleep on planes. (Again, can\u2019t relate \u2014 aisle seat FTW!)<\/p>\n

So, if you ever think that F1 drivers aren\u2019t completely like me and you, do keep an eye out the next time you\u2019re flying a budget airline.<\/p>\n

Back to you, Alex.<\/p>\n

Safety: Another new car to debut in Hungary<\/p>\n

The Aston Martin isn\u2019t the only new car being revealed in Hungary this weekend.\u00a0There\u2019s also a new F1 safety car from Mercedes.<\/p>\n

Since the start of the 2026 season, after Aston opted\u00a0not to continue<\/a>\u00a0providing safety cars, Mercedes has been the sole manufacturer of such machines. Now, it decided to replace the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series \u2014 that came out during 51 F1 races since 2022 \u2014 with the GT 63 PRO 4MATIC+.<\/p>\n

This is the 14th Mercedes F1 safety car\u00a0\u2014 stretching back to 1996 \u2014 and the first to use all-wheel drive technology. It produces 612 bhp, compared to 720 bhp for the GT Black Series. Like its predecessor, its warning lights are built into the rear wing.<\/p>\n

Previously, F1 safety car lights were fitted to the top of each car, as was the case with the Aston Vantage F1 used between 2021 and 2025. The GT 63 PRO 4MATIC+, however, has a camera fitted to its rear wing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really comes into its own when cornering and accelerating,\u201d\u00a0longtime F1 safety car driver<\/a>\u00a0Bernd Mayl\u00e4nder said in a statement.<\/p>\n

There are two GT 63 PRO 4MATIC+ cars at the Hungaroring track this weekend, both in a special livery to\u00a0celebrate 30 years<\/a>\u00a0of Mercedes\u2019 safety cars.<\/p>\n

Budapest Leaderboard: Hamilton quickest after FP2<\/p>\n

The Hungarian GP weekend track action got underway with two one-hour practice sessions at the Hungaroring track today. Here\u2019s what you need to know:<\/p>\n

In FP1,\u00a0Charles Leclerc led the way for Ferrari with a best time of 1:19.075 seconds, ahead of Verstappen. Leclerc\u2019s car then came to a halt in the pit entry with what looked like a gearbox problem.
\nFive rookie drivers replaced regulars in the opening session: Frederik Vesti in place of Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes, Leonardo Fornaroli for McLaren, Ry\u014d Hirakawa at Haas, Alpine\u2019s Paul Aron and Colton Herta at Cadillac. The quickest was Vesti, in seventh place.
\nAston\u2019s upgraded car looked promising, with Alonso 13th\u00a0\u2014 albeit 2.5 seconds off the pace \u2014 but Lance Stroll suffered a dramatic suspension issue and spun off and out midway through proceedings.
\nIn FP2,\u00a0Lewis Hamilton kept Ferrari\u2019s good start going, with a fastest time of 1:18.729 seconds. Leclerc took second.
\nFranco Colapinto crashed and caused a red flag stoppage midway through the session. The Alpine driver was struggling for grip at the final corners, something that plenty of his rivals also encountered.
\nStroll missed the second session as there was not \u201cenough time to repair the damage from FP1,\u201d per an Aston team statement.
\nAnd Mercedes had a quiet day overall,\u00a0with Russell just fifth in both sessions and championship leader Antonelli down in 13th once he took his car back from Vesti for FP2.
\nOutside the Points<\/p>\n

\ud83c\uddf9\ud83c\udded Madeline interviewed Alex Albon about becoming\u00a0the first driver to reach 100 GP starts for Williams<\/a>. The details about his friendship with Russell are delightful.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcb2 Certain ticket holders for the 2023 Las Vegas GP are\u00a0eligible for compensation<\/a>\u00a0after Liberty Media, the commercial rights owner of F1, and the Las Vegas GP \u201cagreed to a multimillion-dollar settlement to end a class-action lawsuit over the inaugural 2023 race.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u203c\ufe0f Mercedes\u00a0has identified and thinks it fixed the problem<\/a>\u00a0with Russell\u2019s engine that\u00a0impacted him<\/a>\u00a0during the British and Belgian races.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfe And Luke has all the details on the\u00a0Malaysian GP possibly returning<\/a>\u00a0to the F1 calendar this year, as a replacement idea for the\u00a0replacement idea<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0canceled Bahrain GP<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udceb Love Prime Tire? Check out The Athletic\u2019s other newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Prime Tire Newsletter | This is The Athletic\u2019s F1 newsletter. Sign up here to receive Prime Tire directly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":824151,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,82],"class_list":["post-824150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=824150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824150\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/824151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=824150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=824150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=824150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}