Components 1 design legend Adrian Newey says Aston Martin’s new automotive is “one of many extra excessive interpretations” of this yr’s new guidelines.
Newey’s feedback got here as Aston Martin launched their new season on Monday, in a lavish occasion in Saudi Arabia that was bothered by technical issues and revealed solely the color scheme on a generic 2026 automotive, not the crew’s new design.
That was ready throughout the King Fahd Causeway on the Bahrain Worldwide Circuit, the place the second pre-season take a look at begins on Wednesday.
Newey, who joined Aston Martin as managing technical companion in March final yr, informed BBC Sport: “It appears to be a bit totally different to among the different options on the market.
“A bit like 2022, there is a new set of aerodynamic rules, there’s been a lot of totally different interpretations. Whether or not it is the precise one or the fallacious one, solely time will inform.”
Rivals have expressed admiration for the brand new Aston Martin, which examined in an all-black livery for simply one of many permitted three days within the so-called ‘shakedown’ take a look at in Spain final month.
Newey admitted that the automotive was not painted there partly as a result of it was prepared so late that the crew had not had time to take action.
Groups had been allowed to run for 3 of 5 days in every week on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, however the Aston Martin was prepared in time to exit solely late on the fourth afternoon, when it broke down after 4 laps with Lance Stroll on the wheel. Fernando Alonso then ran for simply over 60 laps on the ultimate day of the take a look at.
Mercedes driver George Russell, the pre-season championship favorite, described it as “fairly spectacular” and mentioned it was “in all probability essentially the most standout when it comes to the automotive design and it appears very spectacular”.
Williams crew principal James Vowles mentioned it was a “actually, actually attention-grabbing design”.
Newey, who has a popularity for normally being at the forefront of innovation when new guidelines are launched, mentioned: “Due to the very compressed design time, we selected a course, a single course, that we might pursue. And that’s what we have carried out.”
Newey joined a crew that had already gone by a sequence of administration modifications previously couple of years, whereas working to carry on stream a brand new manufacturing facility, wind tunnel and driver-in-the-loop simulator.
He mentioned the design strategy of this yr’s automotive, the crew’s first as Honda’s engine companion, had been “an extremely compressed cycle”.
He added: “Total it has been very stimulating and invigorating, exhausting at instances as nicely, after all. However what I discovered was a number of individually very proficient individuals who weren’t essentially working that nicely collectively. And so that is what we have tried to actually consider.”
He mentioned the crew had tried to concentrate on getting the basics proper for the beginning of the season “hoping that that may enable us fairly a little bit of growth potential by the season”.
Aston Martin selected a design museum in Ithra to unveil the automotive in its newest color scheme in an occasion paid for by their title sponsor, the Saudi Arabian nationwide oil firm.
However the occasion began almost 20 minutes late, and the reside stream broke after an additional 5.
