Fernando Alonso 'concerned' at Aston Martin and team chief agrees with statement

Fernando Alonso has confessed that he found Aston Martin's sudden surge in pace at the Hungarian Grand Prix "concerning". The Spaniard secured fifth place, finishing two spots ahead of team-mate Lance Stroll, as the squad delivered their strongest performance of the campaign to date.

The breakthrough came just seven days after what was arguably the lowest point of their season thus far. Aston Martin endured their worst showing at the Belgian Grand Prix, managing only 19th and 20th in qualifying for Sunday's race at Spa-Francorchamps whilst remaining well outside the points-paying positions. Understandably, Alonso and his team were thrilled with the dramatic transformation in Budapest.

However, he conceded afterwards that, aside from possibly the fresh front wing configuration they unveiled there, they remained baffled as to how they had discovered such significant speed compared to the previous weekend.

"It is a surprise, definitely," said the Spanish driver. "It's a nice surprise. The good thing is that we were competitive and we were fast. The concerning thing is that we don't know why.

"We need this week at the factory to analyse exactly what are the differences between Spa and Hungary, what are the differences on the car as well, on the setup, on the aero devices that we were racing with.

"The main thing for us was the front wing that was new this weekend. If that front wing gives us that much of performance, that's very good news, but I think that has to be understood at the moment."

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Alonso remains wary about the remaining 10 rounds of the season for his team. Aston Martin's chief trackside officer, Mike Krack, is also keeping his expectations in check, suggesting that their impressive pace at the Hungaroring could have been "circumstantial".

He stated: "Fifth and seventh place in Budapest is a good way to wrap up the first half of the year. Fernando and Lance have been excellent all weekend and converted our strong qualifying result into important points.

"They both made the one-stop strategy work and did a great job of managing the medium tyres during the long first stint. It has been our most competitive weekend this season so well done to the entire team for the great preparation and execution.

"You cannot jump, normally, from the back of the midfield to the front of the midfield within seven days, We need to be realistic. We had very difficult races before, not only Spa. It does not mean that we have managed a complete turnaround. I think it's probably also a bit circumstantial. The fight in the midfield will continue, I'm sure.

"It is always nice to start the summer break off the back of a good result and these 16 points will give everybody in the team a boost. We will take a few weeks' holiday and come back ready to build on this result in the races to come."