Reading a Formula 1 driver's true feelings about a new car usually takes more than words, data, lap times, radio messages, the lot. For Aston Martin's Pedro de la Rosa, none of that was necessary. After months of a difficult season and a high-stakes gamble on a major upgrade package, all it took to know whether it had paid off was a single look across the garage. 

Aston Martin endured a difficult start to the 2026 season, plagued by reliability issues and a lack of pace that left them near the back of the grid. Rather than spread upgrades across multiple races like most rivals, the team gambled everything on one major overhaul, unveiled as a B-spec car at the Hungarian Grand Prix. 

While talking on 'Beyond the Grid ', De La Rosa spoke about the first time they tested the upgrades and how he knew where to look for the verdict, which was Fernando Alonso’s face. 

"With Fernando, I know him so much that we look at the eyes." De La Rosa said in the interview. "I always try to be at the front of the car when he comes in after a run. He looks at me, I look at him, and I know exactly what he's thinking."

The Aston Martin team representative further spoke about how much he was riding on that one moment to determine the success of the upgrades. 

"I don't even need to listen to the radio. And his eyes look like, ‘yes, it's working.’ Sometimes we've had upgrades in the past, and I look at him, and he immediately doesn't want to look at my eyes. When he tries to refuse eye contact, I know we are in trouble. But that time he looked, and he was just like, ‘yeah, it's there, it's there.’"

For a team that spent much of 2026 near the back of the grid, that single look from Alonso told de la Rosa everything he needed to know. The upgrades haven't erased Aston Martin's struggles; both cars retired from last weekend's Italian Grand Prix, but the underlying pace de la Rosa saw in his driver's eyes back in Hungary is still there. 

As the team arrives in Madrid for Formula 1's newest race, it's that quieter, harder-to-measure kind of progress they're banking on. 

Fernando Alonso gives his opinion on Madring

For most drivers, 25 years on the calendar might dull the novelty of a home race. Not for Alonso. This weekend gives him something he's never had before: two Spanish Grands Prix in a single season, with Madrid now joining Barcelona on the calendar.

While talking to Formula One ahead of the free practice session on Friday, Alonso expressed his excitement. 

"It's going to be a very nice weekend," Alonso said via Formula One. "We have this privilege to race two times in Spain this year, and for the very first time in Madrid. It is special."

Furthermore, he also touched upon the characteristics of the track. 

"It’s very technical, lots of kerb riding and a couple of high-speed sections where you need to get very close to the walls, which is very attractive and very high adrenaline for a driver – close to Jeddah."

Even with a quarter-century of experience, Alonso sounds like a driver discovering something new all over again. 

Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco