Formula 1 News: Aston upgrade arrives but focus already on '26

(GMM) Fernando Alonso (pictured) says Aston Martin’s focus has shifted heavily to 2026 – even as the team rolls out what could be its final major upgrade of the current season.

At Spa-Francorchamps, Aston has introduced new parts despite the compressed Sprint weekend format and forecasts of rain, both of which limit track time. The upgrade may not be raced depending on Friday’s single practice session, but Alonso welcomed the early arrival.

“First, I think the priority is to understand if the new parts are bringing performance,” he said Thursday. “Always on a Sprint weekend it’s difficult to achieve that with only one free practice. Maybe the weather is not helping on that side. So, that will be the first priority. Then, yeah, try to score points if we can again this weekend.”

The veteran Spaniard admitted he doesn’t know why the team chose Spa for the package debut, but hinted it may have been advanced from a later round.

Fernando Alonso of Spain and Aston Martin F1 Team speaks in the Drivers Press Conference during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on July 24, 2025 in Spa, Belgium. (Photo by Sam Bagnall/Sutton Images for Aston Martin)

“I think the team is trying to bring the upgrades whenever they’re ready,” said Alonso. “Probably this was forecasted for Budapest or later in the season and they managed to bring it a little bit earlier.”

“There’s no guarantee that we will race with it if we have no time to test it. But at the same time, I think it was welcome – that there is this push from everyone in the factory to bring the new parts as soon as possible.”

With parc ferme rules loosening after the Sprint, Alonso said the team has “plenty of possibilities” depending on how Friday unfolds.

“If we do and we opt to race with it, we will have a better feel after the weekend. If we cannot test it in FP1, maybe we opt not to fit it for qualifying,” he explained. “At the same time, I think we have the parc ferme open after the Sprint race, so we could use the first part of the weekend as a test and then race on Sunday with the best spec.”

But beyond the weekend, Alonso made clear that minds at Aston Martin – drivers included – are already drifting to the sweeping 2026 regulation overhaul.

“Actually, I think 80% of the focus is already on 2026, in a way,” he said. “Not only on the engineers and the design team. It’s also the drivers’ head, apart maybe from the two McLaren drivers.

“This year is going to change very little, I think, in the second part.”