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Valtteri Bottas has heard a “rumour” that the B-Spec Aston Martin AMR26 shares only the front suspension with its predecessor.
The hotly-anticipated, upgraded Aston Martin AMR26 was spotted for the first time on Thursday ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. Bottas is “a bit scared” over what this new Aston Martin could be capable of, considering the potential implications for Cadillac.
Valtteri Bottas ‘a bit scared’ to find Aston Martin answers
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Aston Martin opted against a series of smaller upgrades to its AMR26, which made a disappointing start to F1 2026.
Instead, under the leadership of Adrian Newey, the team put its focus and resources into a substantial upgrade package.
As the rest of the field developed, it left Aston Martin well adrift at the back of the pack.
Initially, Aston Martin’s competition was F1 newcomers Cadillac, though the American team’s development of its MAC-26 has moved it clearly ahead, with Aston Martin becoming detached.
Aston Martin now reaches a critical point in its F1 project under Newey. The new-look AMR26 arrived in Hungary.
The “rumour” heard by Cadillac driver Valtteri Bottas has left him “curious” and “scared” at the same time about what is coming from Aston Martin.
“There’s lots of rumours,” Bottas said of Aston Martin when speaking with PlanetF1.com and others.
“Most are saying it’s a big step for them. But we’ll see as the car hits the track.
“One rumour I heard is that the only thing that is the same is the front suspension. Everything else is new, so let’s see.
“Quite curious about that, but at the same time, a little bit scared in a way that if they make a big step, then we’re at the back.
“But in the end, we need to focus on our job. We shouldn’t waste our energy on that.”
Bottas praised Cadillac’s first F1 development cycle thus far, citing how the upgrades introduced have added performance. That is evidenced by how Cadillac has pulled away from Aston Martin.
But, if Aston Martin can find a massive chunk of lap time with its B-Spec car, then Cadillac could be limited in its ability to hit back in the development battle.
“In the second half [of the season], we still have something coming performance-wise, but no magic, nothing huge,” said Bottas.
“There is a point that we need to shift our focus 100 per cent for next year, which is coming soon. It means that we can still make progress, but big steps is more challenging to make because I think everyone is still bringing kind of their last upgrades. So most likely we’ll be aligned with that.
“Everything we’ve brought to the car has made it quicker, has made it better. I think that’s really positive for a new team. It’s not a guarantee in Formula 1 that the parts that you put on the car actually works. I think that’s promising for the future.
“We’ve made steps. We haven’t made huge steps, but we’ve seen progress.
“I think what’s been quite evident, if we compare ourselves to Aston, as they haven’t really been upgrading their car yet, we’ve seen that we’ve been able to just get further away from them, quite a good chunk, and that has come from these small improvements.”
More on Aston Martin from PlanetF1.com
Adrian Newey, Aston Martin and the start of a new dawn
Hungarian GP predictions: Big Lewis Hamilton drama, Newey delivers Aston Martin breakthrough
Cadillac does arrive in Hungary with new brakes.
“More cooling, which is needed here,” said Bottas of that update.
Brake fires impacted Cadillac in Monaco and Austria.
“The last two events haven’t been that hard for the brakes, so we could manage. But we know that with the old parts that we had, when we had the issues, it could be a problem here,” Bottas continued.
“So that’s why we’ve hopefully addressed the issue.
“It’s a bit like what I said before Austria. If we can survive this race, then we should be okay.”
Asked if he was saying that Cadillac would not survive the Hungarian GP without the new brakes, Bottas confirmed: “I think most likely we would have not with the old parts.”
With its heavy braking zones and potential for scorching heat, the Hungaroring is one of the most demanding tracks on the F1 calendar when it comes to brakes.
The air temperature could surpass 30 degrees Celsius by Sunday.
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
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