F1 Dutch Grand Prix: Adrian Newey issues Aston Martin statement after 'incredible' Alonso verdict

Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Dutch Grand Prix

Adrian Newey issues exciting Aston Martin F1 statement after 'incredible' Alonso verdict

Things are definitely looking up

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Monday 24 August 2026 09:45 Updated: 15:08

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Fernando Alonso described Aston Martin's recent progress as "incredible" at the F1 Dutch Grand Prix, but team principal Adrian Newey believes there is still even more to come.

The team in green are still running near the back of the field after a disastrous first half of 2026, but everything is very relative. Until recently they had been a laughing stock, struggling to even battle with rookie team Cadillac.

However on Sunday, after Newey's comments, Alonso picked up the team's second and third points of the season with a smooth drive to take ninth place ahead of the Alpine of Pierre Gasly.

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After Saturday's action at Zandvoort the two-time world champion Alonso raved about how Newey's chassis upgrades (he brought a massive 16 to the Hungarian Grand Prix and five more to Zandvoort) are transforming the team's fortunes.

He explained: “In Budapest we made it to Q2, and here we were just one-tenth away," Alonso continued. "Plus, this is the smallest margin behind the Q1 leader. Piastri was 1.3 seconds [+1.040s] ahead of us. Before, we had an average gap of 4.5 seconds to the best, so we’ve improved by three seconds over two races. It’s encouraging.

"It's incredible; everything is working as planned. But it's a tough sport, and you always have to improve."

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Newey says there is 'more potential to unlock'

If Alonso is happy with the evidence from the last two race weekends, he will be even happier when he hears what design genius Newey had to say after Saturday's action in the Netherlands. He believes there is still more to come.

"Despite the limited practice running of a sprint event, the weekend so far has given us valuable track time to better understand the characteristics of our recent upgrades and the updated power unit.

"Both drivers are reporting significant steps forward with the chassis and aero performance.

"The key takeaway is that we need to improve the drivability, and doing so will help us find more performance.

"Our pace is much improved compared to a couple of races ago - but we know there's more potential to unlock from this package."

Newey says Aston Martin still have more potential to unlock.

Honda question mark, and Alonso future

As Newey rightly pointed out, the big question mark right now is that much-maligned Honda power unit. It got its first upgrade at Zandvoort but there are clearly teething problems to resolve.

Alonso's team-mate Lance Stroll described it as 'a lottery' after qualifying on Saturday - saying drivability and power are the two big issues for the team right now.

Whether Honda can prove they are capable of delivering or not could well decide the future of Alonso in the sport. The 45-year-old is currently considering whether to sign a new deal with Aston Martin for 2027 and beyond.

Alonso's other options right now appear to be a move to another team (limited potential here with Alpine the only real rumoured landing spot) or retirement.

F1 RESULTS: Full times, finishing positions and penalties from Dutch Grand Prix

F1 Aston Martin Adrian Newey