Forty-five-year-old Fernando Alonso is feeling something he has not felt in a while when it comes to his Formula 1 car: optimism.

At the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, Alonso and his team Aston Martin debuted a virtually new car. For the first time this season, they made it out of the first qualifying session. Alonso will start 16th on the grid, 2.8 seconds off pole position. But here is what matters most: he was two seconds faster in relative pace than the team had managed for some time.

"I feel relieved a little bit, feeling that the team understood the weaknesses of the car and this is the first step in the right direction," Alonso told BBC Radio 5 Live. "We brought a few updates to this car early in the season, and it didn't work much. And we come from two years of disappointments of upgrades. So definitely there is a change in optimism in the factory and I feel optimistic."

The veteran Spanish driver, who turns 46 next week, still has big questions about his future. He is deciding this summer whether to continue his racing career after this season. But even with that uncertainty, he believes the team is heading in the right direction — it is just a matter of when, not if, they will find success.

"No one should doubt Adrian Newey or the potential we have in Silverstone," Alonso said. Newey is the famous technical partner who joined Aston Martin and is widely respected in the racing world for designing championship-winning cars. "It is a matter of time before we have the best chassis and it is a matter of time before Honda have the best engine in F1. It is a question of when."

Of course, the weekend had its challenges. The track surface at the Hungaroring circuit was breaking up in places, especially in the final two corners, making grip unpredictable for all drivers. Despite all this, Alonso and his team left Hungary with something rare in recent memory: genuine hope.

For a driver who has won two world championships and is still racing at the highest level at 45, that feeling may matter more than any grid position.