On 26 November, Aston Martin introduced that Adrian Newey can be its System 1 group principal for the 2026 season.
Legendary F1 engineer Newey joined Aston on 1 March as managing technical director and can take over from present group boss Andy Cowell, who’s stepping apart to turn into chief technique officer after changing Mike Krack for this yr.
Newey will subsequently turn into Aston’s third group principal in simply 12 months, as billionaire proprietor Lawrence Stroll’s mammoth funding into the Silverstone-based squad to this point fails to repay.
Stroll employed among the finest technicians from different groups – together with Newey and Cowell, a long-time chief of Mercedes’ powertrain division – and turned the outdated Pressure India manufacturing unit into state-of-the-art amenities, however Aston nonetheless struggled within the final season of the ground-effect period. The outfit completed seventh within the 2025 constructors’ championship, with Fernando Alonso’s fifth place in Hungary its highest end.
Nonetheless, the two-time F1 world champion insisted this underperformance had nothing to do with the choice to entrust Newey with extra obligations.
“No, I do not suppose so,” Alonso stated of poor outcomes probably influencing the choice. “2025 is a difficult season for us, no doubts. However to be trustworthy, this isn’t eradicating the long-term view of the group. The scenario we’re in is what it’s. We’re combating for simply the previous few factors in some races and we aren’t pleased with that. However this isn’t actually influencing any choice or any massive change within the group.”
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Staff, hugs Lawrence Stroll, Proprietor, Aston Martin F1 Staff, on the grid
Picture by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Pictures
Alonso wasn’t caught unawares by this administration reshuffle, explaining that Stroll repeatedly mentioned it with him.
“Lawrence is speaking to us repeatedly, as soon as every week on the cellphone, and when he involves the races, every single day we’ve lunch or dinner collectively,” the Spaniard revealed. “So we’re all the time within the loop, to illustrate, on what Lawrence thinks. [He] asks opinions on what might be finest for the group, what’s lacking. So we’re very concerned all the time on every little thing that they’re pondering.
“Clearly, we haven’t any energy of choices, however they preserve us knowledgeable. So this was slowly arising, that Lawrence was serious about this factor.”
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