Fernando Alonso sends five-word message to Lance Stroll after brilliant Hungarian Grand Prix weekend

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After the Belgian Grand Prix, very few people would have predicted a double-points finish for Aston Martin on Sunday.

Aston Martin were the slowest team at Spa, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll qualifying 19th and 20th.

It was the worst result in the team’s Formula 1 history, and neither driver came close to scoring points despite the torrential rain and rolling start in the Ardennes forest.

However, the Hungarian Grand Prix proved to be the complete opposite for Andy Cowell’s team.

The characteristics of the track suited Aston Martin’s car far better than Spa, and they locked out the third row of the grid for Sunday’s race.

Aston Martin went into the weekend behind Sauber and Racing Bulls in the constructors’ championship, but a 16-point haul was enough to leapfrog both teams.

Alonso was quick to praise Gabriel Bortoleto after the race, with his protégé securing the best result of his burgeoning F1 career to finish sixth.

Martin Brundle suggested Aston Martin brought a brand new car to the Hungaroring, and Alonso happily sent a message to his teammate after his second P7 finish in the past three races.

READ MORE: Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso’s life outside F1 from net worth to Cars 2

Fernando Alonso praises the ‘great job’ Lance Stroll performed at the Hungarian Grand Prix

Alonso got off to the perfect start to Sunday’s race, jumping ahead of eventual race winner Lando Norris on the opening lap.

He wasn’t able to hold onto that position for long, but he executed a perfect one-stop strategy to finish P5 and secure his fifth points finish in the past six Grand Prix.

Stroll had a tougher start, falling behind Bortoleto and Max Verstappen.

However, Red Bull didn’t do the best job with the Dutchman’s strategy, and after finally succumbing to a second pit stop, Stroll finished seventh ahead of the leading Red Bull-backed driver, Liam Lawson.

Posting on Instagram after the race, Stroll said: “P7 in Buda – Signing off for a couple weeks.”

Alonso replied to the Canadian driver’s post and said: “Great job all weekend! Congrats.”

READ MORE: Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Lance Stroll celebrates a ‘big uplift’ for Aston Martin after the Hungarian Grand Prix

Alonso believes Adrian Newey is preparing ‘something big’ for Aston Martin’s 2026 car, and it looks like progress is still being made on the AMR25.

How long that will continue after the summer break is yet to be seen, with every team now considering whether to shift their full focus to next year’s regulations.

Aston Martin will hope Sunday’s race is a sign of things to come, and speaking in his official post-race interview at the Hungaroring, Stroll said: “It was a great day for the team and a solid weekend from start to finish.

“Heading into the summer break with 16 points is a big uplift for us. But we have lots to learn from this weekend because we don’t fully understand why we were more competitive here.

“We need to be in a place where we can put the car in that window at more tracks because ultimately, we want to be at this level of competitiveness more consistently.

“We’ll see how we go in Zandvoort after the break because it’s a very different kind of track.”

Stroll isn’t the only driver who has admitted that his team don’t fully understand why they’re faster at some tracks than others.

It’s a complaint Mercedes have had for years, while other teams appear to enjoy far stronger weekends than expected regularly.