Aston Martin faces a pivotal moment in 2026 when it takes to the track and we see whether all of Lawrence Stroll’s investments get vindicated on track.
A lot of work has gone on behind the scenes at the British squad to position themselves as title contenders for when the new regulations take effect, including the hiring of legendary design guru Adrian Newey.
Fernando Alonso will be hopeful that their 2026 car is better than what he experienced last year, which featured his worst finishing position at a Grand Prix in his career when he finished in P19 at Mexico.
Aston Martin spent most of last year trapped in an ‘old school obsession’ according to some F1 insiders, which was effectively chasing downforce on their cars rather than improving the overall package.
Newey’s arrival should give more clarity on their problems, given he was responsible for creating one of the best cars of the current generation at Red Bull. Even if their 2025 challenger proves to be uncompetitive, Peter Windsor thinks it’s a win-win scenario for Newey when speaking on his YouTube channel.
Peter Windsor says Adrian Newey does not need to take responsibility for 2025 failings
Aston Martin was under pressure last year by Stroll to improve their results on track, given the billionaire team owner was pouring a significant amount of investment into the team.
Newey does not join the team officially until March and is likely to be spearheading their 2026 car preparations, but he will have some input into 2025. Windsor believes his impact might not be seen straight away, but it does not matter right now.
“Aston Martin, there is a bit of question mark over what goes on there. Adrian Newey will be in a perfect situation in a way because if the team does go a little bit better this year, Adrian has breezed his magic on the car,” said Windsor.
“If it doesn’t continue to go well, and they’re in the midfield then Adrian will say ‘Well, it’s not my car!’ I think he will do a good job on setup, but there is going to be a limit on what he can do with the 2025 car.”
Aston Martin hopeful of improvements in 2025
It’s was disappointing to see Aston Martin fail to deliver on their promise of 2023 last year, given they were the team who got closest to Red Bull.
Perhaps the signs were there towards the end of that year when it was Ferrari who dethroned Red Bull’s impressive win streak at Singapore rather than either Alonso or Lance Stroll.
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The team dropped off towards the end of that year and then struggled massively in 2024 with balance issues, with Aston Martin treating a lot of races as a test session.
Newey will help the team along with the experience of Andy Cowell, who was recently appointed as team principal having joined from Mercedes’ F1 engine department.
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