Adrian Newey has officially started work at Aston Martin having joined the team in March, and has been focused on giving them the best possible start to 2026.
Aston Martin’s 2025 season has not got off to the best start, with the team gradually going from podium heroes to midfield stragglers in the last three years.
Fernando Alonso has not scored any points so far, and the team currently looks a million miles off achieving the lofty ambitions of billionaire team owner Lawrence Stroll.
The team have made several key hirings, including Newey and former Mercedes engine boss Andy Cowell, but they have yet to vindicate those decisions on track.
Newey has spoken for the first time since joining the team officially and has been encouraged by what he’s seen so far, but acknowledges that Aston Martin must make a key step in one area if they want to become world champions.
Adrian Newey thinks Aston Martin must ‘grow’ aero department to win titles
Stroll has invested heavily in the last couple of years in transforming the old Jordan and Force India F1 team into a world-class facility, including Aston Martin’s brand-new state-of-the-art wind tunnel.
The arrival of Cowell, alongside Honda joining as their engine partner in 2026, will also be a key development for the team.
Newey has identified the areas he thinks the team could bolster their headcount to help develop their 2026 car, when speaking on Aston Martin’s official website.
“One area of our team that needs to grow is the aerodynamics department. But in the short term that means we’ve got to decide which directions are going to be the most fruitful and really concentrate our resources on those,” said Newey.
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Adrian Newey sees ‘flexibility’ in 2026 regulations
The 2026 regulations are set to be a radical shakeup as both the chassis and engine specifications are set to change together for the first time in F1.
Newey was initially critical of the changes because of how prescribed F1 had become in recent years, feeling that it had stifled creativity for engineers. But after drilling into the detail, he believes there is more ‘flexibility’ than meets the eye.
“My thoughts on the ’26 regulations are similar to what my thoughts were about the big regulation change for 2022: initially thinking the regulations were so prescriptive that there wasn’t much left here [for a designer], but then you start to drill into the detail and realise there’s more flexibility for innovation and different approaches than first meets the eye,” said Newey.
There is a keen sense of anticipation over how Newey approaches the 2026 cars, with all eyes on Aston Martin going forward.
