Alonso Battles Through Back Injury as Aston Martin Impresses in Hungary
So, here’s the scoop from the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend—Fernando Alonso, despite dealing with a back injury, managed to bounce back impressively on Friday. Now, this wasn’t just a case of a sore muscle—Alonso revealed that after the last race in Belgium, he had an MRI scan which confirmed a small muscle injury in his lower back, right around the lumbar area. According to him, if it had been anyone else, they’d probably be told to take a couple of weeks off and rest. But, of course, Alonso is not just anyone.
Because of that injury, Aston Martin made a late call to have their reserve driver, Felipe Drugovich, step in for Free Practice 1 (FP1). It was a last-minute switch, announced just before the session kicked off. Alonso needed more time to rest, and honestly, it was the right call. FP1 was handled smoothly by Drugovich, who, despite the lack of simulator time or prep, just jumped in and got the job done. He even squeezed in a soft tyre run, though he admitted his lap was messy—tons of traffic and a big lock-up into Turn 1—but all in all, it was productive and useful for the team.
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Then came FP2, and that’s where Alonso made his return. And surprisingly, he wasn’t just back—he looked comfortable and quick. He finished fifth, just behind his teammate Lance Stroll, who came in fourth. Alonso explained afterward that the team had made several adjustments to the seat, including using different pads to ease the pressure on his back. The result? He reported no pain during that session, which is definitely a win.
That said, he did mention that the car’s balance wasn’t quite where he wanted it—he was dealing with understeer, especially in the middle of corners, and struggled a bit with rotation at low speeds. But given that it was only the first practice session he participated in, it’s nothing out of the ordinary. He sounded optimistic, saying they’d go over the FP1 data overnight and make some tweaks for tomorrow.
As for Stroll, even though he had a solid session himself—just a tenth ahead of Alonso—he stayed cautious. He pointed out that Friday times can be deceiving since teams run different fuel loads and test setups, so it’s hard to judge where everyone truly stands.
In short, Alonso’s injury might’ve briefly sidelined him, but it certainly didn’t slow him down much. Between smart seat modifications, a pain-free FP2, and a team that’s showing competitive pace early in the weekend, things are looking fairly promising for Aston Martin heading into the rest of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
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