Former Formula 1 driver and Aston Martin ambassador Pedro de la Rosa has praised the influence of Adrian Newey’s arrival to the team, saying it has brought a “total change”.
The famed technical guru joined Aston Martin in March, having signed for the British marque back last September, after completing two decades with Red Bull.
Newey has since made his first public appearance with the team at the Monaco Grand Prix, but is primarily tasked with overseeing the design of its 2026 challenger.
The 66-year-old’s long and impressive portfolio is a huge factor in giving the team a tentative but firm status as possible dark horses for next year, when the new regulations are implemented.
And according to de la Rosa, who joined the team as ambassador in 2022, said his profile has already seen a myriad of key and positive improvements for the Silverstone-based squad.
Speaking to SoyMotor, the Spaniard revealed that he was “never told” Newey was joining the team, and spoke of the effect his arrival has brought to the team.
“The change is tremendous,” he told SoyMotor. “Since the announcement that Newey was coming to us, there has been a total change.
“More people want to come and work at Aston Martin, from all the teams and especially from the universities.
It’s something no one realised could happen, but it is happening because young engineers want to work with the big names to learn more quickly.”
“In England there is a spectacular market for engineers, because within a radius of 100 kilometres there are practically all the teams in the world. Attracting talent is very important and having Adrian has an effect of attraction, of inspiration to the new generations, to all those engineers who want to be Formula 1 engineers and who want to work with Newey to learn from him.”
‘New generation of Neweys’ secures a bright future for Aston Martin
De la Rosa further explained how Newey’s influence is contributing to what was already a rising influx of bright and enthusiastic people, adding that the number of personnel has risen by hundreds even in the two years he has been part of the team.
“That’s something that sometimes you don’t value. We always look at Adrian Newey as the figure who makes winning cars, but for us it’s very important the new generation of Neweys who want to work with him, because they will be the future of Aston Martin.
“Sometimes we focus on the big names, but teams win for everything, for the big names but also for unsung heroes who will one day fill that role.”
“The most beautiful thing about Aston Martin is to see the internal transformation that is happening, the growth. We were about 600 people when I joined and now we are more than 900 people.”
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