Whilst Aston Martin strives to improve the team’s 2025 Formula 1 car, its Managing Technical Partner Adrian Newey is in “2026 mode,” working on the fine details of next year’s challenger.
The famed technical guru officially joined the Silverstone-based squad in March and has so far been present at just two Grands Prix, in Monaco and at Silverstone.
So far, Newey has largely kept his powder dry, making little public comment on the present, but rather the future, as F1 prepares to embark on a new generation of regulations.
The current car, the AMR25, has been underwhelming throughout the campaign, scoring just 36 points, down on its haul at this stage last season.
Whilst Aston Martin Team Principal Andy Cowell revealed that the current model has been part of “lunchtime conversations” at HQ, Newey is appearing to take great lengths to avoid any lengthened dialogue about the AMR25.
Speaking to Spanish broadcaster DAZN at the British Grand Prix, its driver Fernando Alonso explained that Newey is “motivated” in his work, but is nonplussed about the current car.
“He’s working, he’s involved,” he said. “He’s very motivated. But it’s true that this year’s car doesn’t seem to interest him much.
“Every time we ask something about this year or how to improve something, he gets up and goes to another office. So he’s already in 2026 mode…”
Will Newey’s unwillingness to improve the AMR25 promise big things for 2026?
Newey has already discussed a number of topics he is facing ahead of the 2026 season, including his own interpretation of the new rules, which he described as “scary”.
And despite saying the Aston Martin Technology Campus is the “best facility” in F1, Newey has pointed out some of the foibles it possesses, such as the “handicap” of its driver-in-the-loop simulator.
Newey is no stranger to walking into an F1 team when an existing car has already been designed a built, having done so with Williams and McLaren.
And the form book suggests that, like with previous employers, he disregards them in order to concentrate on a car created purely from his own pencil, then Aston Martin may be best placed to leave him to his ‘other office’ to potentially spawn a title-challenging machine.
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