Aston Martin Ambassador Pedro de la Rosa has hailed the signing of Adrian Newey as Managing Technical Partner as a “gamechanger” for the Formula 1 team.
The renowned F1 designer will head up Aston Martin’s technical team starting in March 2025 and will also become a company shareholder.
Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, de La Rosa said Newey’s arrival is “fantastic news” for Aston Martin.
“[Newey joining] is something we were all hoping and waiting [for] and dreaming of, but it’s now a reality,” the Spaniard added.
De la Rosa worked with Newey during the pair’s coinciding days at McLaren and added that the impressive assets at Aston Martin’s disposal, including a brand new wind tunnel and future works engine partnership with Honda, made the team an “appealing” proposition.
“It just highlights how appealing our project was, how exciting it was for Adrian to join and what an exciting future we have,” he said.
“I can’t wait for him to get started and to work again with him.
“I think it just gives so much credit to our team because, at the end of the day, every team on the grid wanted Adrian to join, but he decided for Aston Martin.
“I think it’s a gamechanger and it’s a very important point in our history at Aston Martin. He’s a winner and he really wants to win badly in everything he does. He has a racing driver mentality.
“I think he’s decided for our team because he saw that the ingredients to win were there – the resources, the people, the team. They were all in place, otherwise he wouldn’t have joined.
“I’m so happy that he has picked Aston Martin. Having him is a guarantee that we have the best [people in F1] with us.”
Aston Martin thinking ‘long term’ with Newey
Newey will join ex-Ferrari employee Enrico Cardile at Aston Martin in 2025, with the latter taking up post as Aston Martin’s Chief Technical Officer.
The duo will link up with existing Technical Director Dan Fallows, Deputy Technical Director Eric Blandin, Performance Director Tom McCullough and many more names.
De la Rosa acknowledged that Newey will complement an already strong technical department and looks ahead to the impact the revised team will have on the 2026 regulation change.
“I just think we have to look long-term in this business,” he said. “You cannot really think about 2025 or the immediate change that Adrian will have.
“We have to be very respectful of the people that we already have. Without them, Adrian wouldn’t have joined. We have to be very mindful that we have the best already and Adrian will just strengthen our group.
“Let’s wait for when he joins in ‘25 and we will grow together. We would love to have him right now, but things don’t happen short-term in Formula 1.
“If Adrian is coming in ’25, we will have to look at ’26 influence to feel a difference on his arrival.”
