HALF TERM REPORT: Aston Martin’s best and worst moments from 2026 so far and driver head-to-heads

Needless to say, the first half of the 2026 season has been incredibly challenging for Aston Martin, who currently sit second to last in the Teams’ Championship. However, with signs of promise emerging following a significant upgrade package before the summer break, can the squad build on that further when the campaign resumes? Here is their half term report…

Best finish

Fernando Alonso – 10th in Monaco

After ending pre-season testing with the lowest mileage of any team – with the AMR26 affected by chassis and power unit issues – the outlook did not look positive for Aston Martin when the season got underway.

Chronic vibrations on the car meant that both drivers could only complete a limited number of laps in Australia – and while fixes were introduced as the campaign progressed, the squad were still massively lacking performance in comparison to their rivals.

However, an aggressive strategy – coupled with some good fortune – saw Fernando Alonso score Aston Martin’s best finish of the season in Monaco with a P10, something that he admitted was a “nice reward” for everybody in the team.

Qualifying head-to-head

Alonso 9-2 Stroll

Qualifying has proven a tricky affair for both Alonso and Lance Stroll so far in 2026, with the pair often finding themselves towards the very back of the field.

However, it is Alonso who has generally secured the higher grid slot, and the Spaniard also holds the accolade of achieving Aston Martin’s only Q2 appearance of the campaign so far at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Race head-to-head

Alonso 6-2 Stroll*

*No mark for the Australian, Chinese and Barcelona Grands Prix as both drivers retired

Race days have often been just as challenging for the British outfit, but Alonso again has the edge over Stroll in the Grand Prix head-to-head.

Stroll crossed the line ahead of his team mate last time out in Hungary, however, with the Canadian finishing in a season-best P13 – just in front of Alonso – at the wheel of the newly-upgraded AMR26.

Best moment

On paper, that P10 result in Monaco has been the highlight of Aston Martin’s season to this point – but in reality, the best moment was more likely the confirmation that progress had been made with the team’s long-awaited updates at the Hungaroring.

Rather than aiming for small steps through the campaign, the outfit opted to deliver sweeping changes in one go at the final race before the summer break. Team Principal Adrian Newey conceded that this was a “painful decision”, given that it left the squad feeling that they were “standing still” across the first 10 rounds.

However, with hopes for a “large step” in Budapest, the move appeared to have paid off in terms of the on-track results. Alonso and Stroll not only closed the gap to their nearest competitors but managed to classify ahead of a number of them on race day, marking the first time that they were able to mix with the midfield on merit this season.

Worst moment

Unfortunately for Aston Martin, there are perhaps numerous moments that could qualify for this accolade – but arguably one of their toughest points was realising the extent of their troubles before the season had even properly started.

After arriving late to the Barcelona Shakedown, the team were on the back foot when pre-season testing began in Bahrain – and while it can often be difficult to get a read on lap times, the squad’s pace deficit to newcomers Cadillac suggested that there were some significant issues at play.

There were also reliability gremlins with the Honda power unit, meaning that the British outfit only managed to accrue around a third of the mileage racked up by Mercedes. It left Aston Martin in no doubt about just how much work was ahead of them in 2026.

Going forward

As touched on above, Aston Martin have crucially been given a sense of hope from the performance of their upgrade package in Hungary, meaning that the second half of the season is now something that the team can look forward to more than fear.

Indeed, Alonso commented after the race in Budapest that the squad had a “good baseline to work with this new car”, as well as voicing his optimism that they could experience a “new start of the championship” when the campaign resumes.

Clearly, there is still plenty of work to do for a team that were claiming regular podium finishes only three years ago to return to form – evidenced by Stroll experiencing reliability issues on Friday at the Hungaroring – and setting an exact target for the remainder of the season is a difficult task.

However, with a power unit update to come in Zandvoort, Chief Trackside Officer Mike Krack has stated that the focus for Aston Martin is to “see what we can unlock in the next races” as they aim to take further steps in their fightback.