Newey and Alonso provide their verdict on Aston Martin progress after upgrades deliver first Q2 appearance of the season

Aston Martin Team Principal Adrian Newey believes the team's latest upgrade package is moving the team in the right direction after Fernando Alonso reached Q2 for the first time this season during Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying.

Although Aston Martin remained outside the top 10, Saturday's result represented a significant step forward after a difficult run of form. Alonso qualified 16th with a lap of 1:19.808, ending a streak of five consecutive events where he had started from the back row of the grid.

Team-mate Lance Stroll was unable to match Alonso's progress and qualified 20th, but he also highlighted improvements in the AMR26's performance following the introduction of the new package.

Newey admitted that reaching Q2 was an important milestone as Aston Martin continues to develop its upgraded car and close the gap to its rivals.

"We came into this weekend with an objective to be in the fight with other cars, so securing our first Q2 position is an encouraging step in that direction," Newey said.

"Fernando got everything he could out of the car today, and Lance, despite limited running yesterday, was also improving on his final run before a tailwind sent him into the gravel."

Despite the encouraging qualifying result, Newey stressed that the team still has significant work ahead to fully understand and maximise the potential of the upgrade package.

"We still have work to do to develop the upgrade package, and we know there is more to come."

Alonso was pleased with the progress made throughout the weekend, describing the updated Aston Martin as a more consistent and predictable car compared with the previous specification.

"It has been a more competitive weekend for us and getting into Q2 is a step in the right direction," Alonso said.

"We are still optimising this package and there is more potential to unlock in the car. The car seems more consistent and predictable, so it's a bit easier to drive."

The two-time World Champion believes the team can continue learning about the car during Sunday's race as Aston Martin searches for further improvements.

"We are going to keep learning about this car tomorrow and we'll see what we can do in the race."

Stroll also highlighted the positive impact of the upgrades, particularly the increase in aerodynamic performance and grip, although he admitted that the car still lacks straight-line performance and requires further balance improvements.

"The car feels like a step forward with more downforce and more grip, so that's positive," Stroll said.

"We were up on the final lap and I think Q2 was possible, but I got caught out by a tailwind into Turn 12 and the car just wouldn't turn, so I couldn't complete it."

The Canadian explained that limited running on Friday also made it more difficult to extract the maximum performance from the updated car.

"We're still missing some power and there are things to improve with the balance, especially after losing so much running yesterday."

However, Stroll remains encouraged by the progress Aston Martin has made and hopes the team can continue building momentum during the race weekend.

"It's encouraging that we've made progress, though, and hopefully we can keep building on it tomorrow."