Aston Martin will transport new parts from the United Kingdom after the suspension failure that deprived Lance Stroll of the second free practice session in Hungary.
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The first appearance of the deeply revised AMR26 did not go as planned for Lance Stroll. The Canadian was only able to complete eleven laps during FP1 before his session ended prematurely due to a failure of the left rear suspension.
The incident occurred in the third corner of the Hungaroring and immediately immobilized the car. Due to the lack of spare parts available at the circuit, Aston Martin was unable to repair the car in time to allow Stroll to return to the track during FP2.
Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso was able to continue with the planned program with the second AMR26. The Spaniard finished 13th in FP1 before placing 19th in the second session, a result to be taken with caution since his best lap was deleted for exceeding track limits.
New parts arriving from the United Kingdom
Faced with this situation, Aston Martin made a quick decision. The British team will have new parts shipped from its factory so that both cars can have the same configuration for Saturday.
Pedro de la Rosa, the team’s ambassador, confirmed that the failure affecting Stroll’s car had no impact on Alonso’s car.
“It was a suspension failure. That is why Fernando was able to continue driving; we were safe on that side.”
However, the lack of parts available on site prevented the mechanics from repairing Stroll’s car in time.
“Due to the lack of spare parts, we couldn’t repair the car in time for Lance. He will be on track tomorrow, but unfortunately, we couldn’t do it for the second session.”
A costly setback
Beyond the time lost on track, Aston Martin believes this incident comes at the worst possible moment. The new version of the AMR26 has significantly different characteristics from the car used so far.
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In addition to allowing engineers to collect data, the free practice sessions were also meant to give Lance Stroll the opportunity to familiarize himself with the behavior of this major evolution.
“We lost a lot of running time, but so did Lance. This car provides new sensations and has different characteristics. The drivers also have to adapt to it.”
De la Rosa emphasizes that the work is not just about fine-tuning the settings.
“It’s not just about adjusting the settings, but also about allowing the drivers to adapt to this car.”
Aston Martin wants to start fresh on Saturday
Despite this shortened Friday, Aston Martin remains confident for the rest of the weekend. The arrival of new parts should allow the mechanics to restore Lance Stroll’s car to perfect condition before FP3.
Some damaged parts can be repaired directly on site, while the most important elements will be replaced by those shipped from the United Kingdom.
“Some parts just need to be repaired, while others will arrive.”
The team’s goal is now clear: to allow Stroll to make up some of the lost time and continue evaluating this deeply revised AMR26 before qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
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