Fernando Alonso ‘relieved’ by what Aston Martin driver saw at Hungarian Grand Prix

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Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso finished qualifying for the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix feeling ‘relieved’ after what he saw unfold around the Hungaroring this Saturday.

Round 13 of the 2024 Formula 1 season saw Lando Norris record the McLaren pilot’s second pole position this year. The 24-year-old will line up P1 on the grid beside his teammate Oscar Piastri in a papaya lock-out, ahead of Max Verstappen of Red Bull and Carlos Sainz of Ferrari.

Two red flag periods interrupted qualifying for the Hungarian GP, as Sergio Perez crashed his Red Bull in Q1 and Yuki Tsunoda wrecked his RB in Q3. George Russell even disappointed for Mercedes after bowing out in P17 for his first Q1 exit this year after rain fell over the circuit.

Fernando Alonso is ‘relieved’ to see both Aston Martin cars in Q3

Perez and Russell’s early failures opened two spots in Q3 behind the remaining Red Bull and Mercedes cars plus the McLaren and Ferrari duos. It also gave Lewis Hamilton a bye after he achieved only the 10th-fastest time in Q2 with a 0.010s advantage to Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg.

Aston Martin and Visa Cash App RB also took full advantage of the chance to have both cars in Q3. The Hungarian GP witnessed just the fifth time this year that Alonso and Lance Stroll both made the last part of qualifying. RB have only had both of their cars in Q3 three times.

READ MORE: Five unforgettable Hungarian Grand Prix including Alonso and Hamilton’s spat

But Alonso admits it came as ‘a bit of a relief’ to see both Aston Martin cars reach Q3 at the Hungarian GP. The 43-year-old believes it will take a bit of pressure off his team after taking a major upgrade package to the Hungaroring. They took a heavily revised floor to the race.

“It’s just a bit of a relief, a bit less pressure on the team, bringing a package to the track that works as expected and works well,” Alonso outlined to Marca. “It was very necessary. So, we are happy about that [and] I am happy for the team.”

Aston Martin unveiled an upgraded floor at the Hungarian GP

Alonso was relieved after qualifying as Aston Martin pinned a lot of hope on their upgrades working at the Hungarian GP. The Silverstone squad have reshaped their floor in an attempt to fix their problems Alonso and Stroll had been fighting with since their upgrades at Imola.

Their previous floor upgrade at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix increased the downforce of the AMR24. But it made the car nervous to drive, so Aston Martin have introduced a major package in Hungary with several aspects tweaked to get the most out of another new part.

Aston Martin will now hope to see the progress that relieved Alonso in qualifying goes into the Hungarian GP. The Spaniard has only scored points in two of the past six rounds with a P6 finish in the Canadian Grand Prix and his P8 in the British GP at Silverstone last time out.