Aston Martin have started pre-season testing as one of just two teams who didn’t change their driver line-up for the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll retained their seats for another campaign and were both in the car on Wednesday.
The AMR25 is Aston Martin’s latest creation but appears to be more of an evolution than a revolution during the final season of the sport’s current regulations.
Although Andy Cowell’s team have finished fifth in the past two constructors’ championships it seems unlikely that they’ll be able to bridge the gap to the top four manufacturers this year.
Aston Martin finished more than 350 points behind Mercedes last year and towards the end of the season, Alonso was having to fight tooth and nail just to finish in the top 10.
However, the excitement is building for 2026 already at Aston Martin then Formula 1’s new ruleset is introduced.
Lawrence Stroll has invested heavily in Aston Martin’s infrastructure and personnel to put the team in the best possible position to fight for the title next year.
The factory has been heavily updated while a new wind tunnel is set to go online in the coming months.
However, it’s the backroom staff that Aston Martin have signed – notably Adrian Newey – that’s getting everyone excited.
Ted Kravitz was speaking on The F1 Show about Newey’s arrival and after studying the team’s 2025 car, he thinks Aston Martin have deliberately made some design choices with his imminent start date in mind.
Aston Martin’s 2025 F1 car ‘the blankest of blank canvases’ for Adrian Newey
Newey officially starts work at Aston Martin at the beginning of March having left Red Bull after nearly 20 years with the team.
Although Newey’s likely to be tasked with making sure the 2026 car is competitive it wouldn’t be a surprise if Stroll Snr. asks him to assess this year’s challenger.
Reflecting on Aston Martin’s latest machine, Kravitz said: “That Aston [Martin] is the blankest of blank canvases, It’s just broken cover in Bahrain.
READ MORE: Andy Cowell shares Aston Martin’s ‘dream’ scenario in 2025 after signing Adrian Newey
“They’ve got a filming day there today and looking at it, it’s… you look at it, you think, well, yeah, they’ve tidied that up, they’ve tidied that up.
“But intentionally, they’ve said, look, let’s just make this a drivable car, eliminate some of the evils of last year that Fernando and Lance didn’t like and let’s leave it blank for Adrian to come and colour in with all of his genius.
“So if it doesn’t look particularly aggressive or exciting, that’s by design because they’re waiting for Adrian to come and start penning some good stuff and adding bits on.”
Aston Martin getting things ready for Adrian Newey’s first days
While Newey is unlikely to be working on designs as soon as he arrives at Aston Martin’s factory, there will be tasks he can immediately start work on during his first weeks with the team.
Aston Martin have saved their wind tunnel time for Newey’s arrival meaning that he can decide whether or not their current designs for next season align with his thinking.
Peter Windsor thinks Aston Martin should use Newey’s skills as a race engineer if they want him to immediately help Alonso and Stroll.
READ MORE: All to know about Aston Martin F1 Team from team principal to lineage
It’s yet to be seen whether he’ll be travelling to race with Aston Martin, but if he does, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him perched on the pit wall like he was for many years at Red Bull.
However, ultimately, his contribution will be judged on next year onwards and whether he turns Aston Martin into the team to beat.
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