Martin Brundle tells 542-point F1 team they’ve brought a ‘different car’ to the Hungarian Grand Prix

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The Hungarian Grand Prix marks the midway point of the year before the summer break for Formula 1 teams, and a lot of them will want to end it on a high.

Ferrari shocked everyone with a pole for Charles Leclerc in qualifying, when it looked like McLaren were unbeatable in the practice sessions.

Leclerc beat Oscar Piastri by 0.026s in the dying moments of Q3, while Lando Norris was also unable to improve, with F1 producing one of the closest qualifying sessions in its 75-year history with the top six cars separated by a tenth of a second.

Two of those cars were the Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, who after qualifying last at the Belgian Grand Prix, have dramatically turned around their fortunes in Budapest.

The team, which has scored 542 points in its history, was praised by Martin Brundle when speaking on Sky Sports F1 (02/08, 3:28pm).

Martin Brundle says Aston Martin looked like a different car

Alonso kept his record of outqualifying Stroll in 2025, with it now 14-0 to the Spaniard, with him set to start the race from fifth on the grid.

Aston Martin appeared to thrive as the track conditions changed from start to finish, with Lance Stroll improving his lap time by four tenths in Q2.

Brundle noted how their AM25 looked completely different around the downforce-intensive Hungaroring when watching both Stroll and Alonso’s laps.

“That Aston Martin looks a different car around here, it looks drivable and like he’s sticking to the road a lot better. They’ve done something because that’s a lot better,” said Brundle.

Fernando Alonso matches Graham Hill stat with Hungarian Grand Prix start

Alonso celebrated his 45th birthday in the days leading up to this weekend’s race, with the Spaniard reaching another F1 milestone.

He is now the first driver since Graham Hill to be active in F1 after his 44th birthday, with him set to start his 415th race in Hungary.

“He’s done a staggering percentage of the overall races in F1. Over 40% of the F1 races in history,” said Brundle.

Alonso initially sat out the first practice session in Hungary, as a result of an earlier issue with the muscles in his back, but was back in the car for FP2 and the rest of the weekend.