Aston Martin is preparing to endure what it expects will be its most difficult race of the Formula 1 season at Spa-Francorchamps, with the team admitting there is little to fight for as it waits desperately for a major car upgrade to arrive at next week's Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Silverstone outfit has spent months pinning its hopes on a comprehensive upgrade for its AMR26, believing incremental updates would do little to lift it from the back of the field.
That package is finally due to make its debut in Budapest, but before then Aston Martin must first survive a weekend that threatens to expose every weakness embedded in both its chassis and Honda power unit.
Friday's practice sessions offered little encouragement.
Lance Stroll finished more than five seconds adrift of pacesetter Kimi Antonelli, while Fernando Alonso was even further back as Aston Martin languished at the foot of the order on a circuit that punishes poor straight-line speed, limited energy recovery and a lack of performance through high-speed corners.
For trackside engineering chief Mike Krack, this weekend’s bleak picture came as no surprise.
"I think it is in line with expectations," he said after Friday practice. "We knew this track was going to be probably the hardest of all.
No illusions about Spa struggles
Rather than searching for optimism, Aston Martin has accepted that Spa is simply about damage limitation.
Krack conceded the team is so far off the pace that meaningful progress can only come if rivals run into trouble, leaving little prospect of fighting on outright performance.
"We need to be realistic. You know we're quite far off. The positions you gain are from attrition but there's nothing to fight for in terms of result. I think it would be quite naive to think you can do something like that. For that we are too far off."
Those comments underline just how much expectation now rests on the Hungarian Grand Prix, where Aston Martin will finally introduce the extensive aerodynamic overhaul it has been developing for months.
The hope is not necessarily that the revised package will transform the team into regular points contenders overnight, but that it can at least provide a clearer direction for the remainder of 2026 and the foundations for next year's challenger.
Keeping faith until the upgrade arrives
Despite the difficult circumstances, Krack insisted Aston Martin's approach has not changed.
Every setup adjustment, operational decision and strategic exercise remains valuable preparation for the moment the team finally has a more competitive car beneath it.
"We did not get demotivated by that," he said. "We need to do our homework and wait for the time when you have a quicker car.
"Our people have done a good job trying to optimise it as much as we can. It's little steps that when you have a quicker car, they are more rewarding than now in terms of position but, as I said, you still have to be on it for the day we have a quicker car.
"We still have two cars. We try to do our best, try to execute well, and make the right decisions."
Krack also praised the resilience shown throughout a season that has tested every department within the organisation, including engine partner Honda.
"Credit to all the team, especially the trackside people, for how they have coped with it, including HRC," he added.
"We went through a tough time. We sat together and we spoke about this. Because everybody has good days, everybody has bad days. So, we need to help each other when these situations occur. And I think from the people and human side, we handled this very well."
Read also: Aston Martin critically tight on spare parts at Spa ahead of key upgradeAs if the challenge at Spa was not already steep enough, Alonso will also start from the back of the grid after Aston Martin fitted a new battery, control electronics and ancillary Honda components beyond the seasonal allocation.
With penalties mounting, pace in short supply and little expectation of a competitive result, Aston Martin's objective at Spa has become one of survival. Only when the team arrives in Hungary next week will it finally discover whether months of waiting have been worthwhile—or whether its difficult season still has further to fall.
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