Adrian Newey believes that Aston Martin possesses the «best facility in F1» and that the new regulations in 2026 will provide more «flexibility for innovation and different approaches than first meets the eye» as the team looks to become a winning outfit.
Newey has spent two months with Aston Martin having joined the Northamptonshire-based squad from Red Bull after an 18-year stint, which included winning six Constructors’ Championships and eight Drivers’ Championships.
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The 66-year-old has been involved in Formula 1 since 1988 having also achieved titles with Williams and McLaren, which along with his Red Bull accolades, have cemented his place as a legendary designer.
Having decided to seek a new challenge, Newey has now given his first impressions on life with Aston Martin.
Newey achieved 14 titles with Red Bull during an 18-year stint
«When you join a new team, it’s always difficult to know what the experience is going to be,» said Newey in an interview with Aston Martin’s website. «Every time I’ve joined a new team, each has been very different.
«The first thing I can say about the team is that everyone has been very welcoming, which is great – it hasn’t always been the case when I’ve started with a new team.
«This is a team that has grown a lot in headcount over a very short space of time. We have great facilities, people are keen and enthusiastic, and it is our job to get on and get everything working smoothly. F1 is about people: yes, there is a lot of technology, but it’s people who drive things forward.»
Newey joins Aston Martin with the team seventh in the Constructors’ standings, with two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso yet to get off the mark from six Grands Prix.
Newey joined Aston Martin at the behest of Executive Chairman Lawrence Stroll, who took over the team formerly known as Racing Point Force India, in 2018 before bringing the Aston Martin name back in 2020 while significantly investing in the team’s facilities.
«Lawrence’s vision has created a great facility – the best facility in F1 – but it is important that we now optimise how we use it. Again, this is a people sport,» added Newey.
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«My previous team had one of the worst wind tunnels in F1 and operates out of an unremarkable series of buildings on an industrial estate, but it managed to get everybody working together and developed a great group of people.
«We have many talented people – also a few areas that need strengthening with greater numbers – and we need to get everyone working together better, using these tools and developing our abilities.»
Newey’s focus will be on 2026 when new aerodynamic and power unit regulations will be introduced, with the designer believing it will open the door for innovation that could give a team an early advantage compared with others.
«My thoughts on the 2026 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,» he said.
«We saw that at the start of 2022, with teams taking really quite different directions. Now, of course, four seasons on, they’ve largely converged, but initially that wasn’t the case. Variation between teams is great. It’s all a bit boring if the cars look identical and the only way you can tell them apart is the livery.
«I think there’s a high probability that in 2026 we’ll see something similar to 2022. There’s enough flexibility in the regulations, and I’m sure people will come up with different solutions. Some of those will be dropped over the first two or three years as teams start to converge.»
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