Adrian Newey has wasted no time in making his mark at Aston Martin. Just weeks into his new role as the team’s Technical Director, and during his first race weekend in green at the Monaco Grand Prix, the legendary designer offered a blunt early assessment: the team is underperforming – and part of the problem lies with one of its most important tools.
Speaking to the media in Monte Carlo where Fernando Alonso has qualified P6 ahead of today’s Grand Prix, Newey made it clear that his initial focus has been on understanding how Aston Martin works internally – not just its technical infrastructure, but also its people and processes. And while he praised the depth of talent within the organisation, he stressed the need for greater cohesion and structure.
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In Formula One, where fractions of a second are won or lost in unseen corners of development labs, Aston Martin’s latest signing has already fired a shot across the bow. Adrian Newey, the most decorated designer in the sport’s history, has barely had time to put his coffee mug on his desk at Silverstone – and he’s already found something he doesn’t like.
During his first race weekend in Aston Martin colours at the Monaco Grand Prix, Newey delivered a damning early diagnosis of the team’s performance woes: their simulator isn’t just subpar – it’s fundamentally flawed.
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Diagnosing the DNA of underperformance
Having only just taken up his role as Technical Director, Newey wasn’t expected to lay out a strategic master plan. But he’s not one to sit back and politely nod. Instead, he plunged headlong into the inner workings of the organisation, gasping at the smell of inefficiency.
“My first job, when I got involved in the design and started talking to everybody, was to understand how the team worked – what its strengths were, what its weaknesses were – and how to build a plan around that,” explains Newey.
“There are a lot of very, very good people here. The job now is to get them to work together in a more structured and organised way.”
Newey acknowledged the depth of talent within Aston Martin’s expanding operation, but suggested that cohesion – rather than competence – was the key issue. The team, he said, was still growing out of its roots. What began as a scrappy, overachieving Jordan team in the 1990s has become a far more complex beast over the decades, passing through various identities – Jordan, Force India, Racing Point – before becoming Aston Martin.
That journey, he argues, is part of the problem.
“It started as Jordan – a small, efficient company that punched above its weight. But in a very short space of time it’s grown into a big organisation. And this year, to be honest, it hasn’t delivered.”
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The simulator that can’t simulate
But it’s not the size of the organisation that worries Newey the most. It’s the simulator – an essential part of modern F1 development – that is letting the team down catastrophically.
“I think it’s fair to say that some of our tools are weak – particularly the driver-in-the-loop simulator,” says Newey, pulling no punches. “At the moment it just doesn’t correlate with reality at all. And that’s a serious handicap.
In modern F1, a team’s simulator is the heartbeat of the car development process. It is where drivers fine-tune their setups, engineers test theoretical upgrades, and strategies are pre-run in digital space before the tyres ever hit the tarmac. If this tool is misaligned with reality, the whole performance chain suffers.
Newey doesn’t sugarcoat the implications. “The simulator needs a lot of work,” he admitted.
“It will be at least a two-year project to get it up to standard. Until then, we’ll be flying a bit blind. We’ll have to rely more on our experience and judgement while we develop the necessary tools in the background.”
In other words, the team will have to go old school – gut instinct and race weekend tweaks – in a sport where everyone else is flying by wire.
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Newey’s frank analysis is likely to raise eyebrows within Aston Martin and reverberate throughout the paddock. This isn’t just any technical director speaking – this is the man who built title-winning cars for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull, a genius whose arrival was hyped as the final piece in Lawrence Stroll’s championship jigsaw.
Yet the immediate picture is anything but triumphant.
The AMR25, Aston Martin’s current car, has struggled to keep pace with its midfield rivals, let alone challenge the front runners. Despite hopes of building on the heights of 2023, when the team was a regular podium contender, 2025 has so far offered more regression than progress. Despite the considerable financial and infrastructural investment in the team’s gleaming new factory complex, the results have been uninspiring.
Newey’s diagnosis suggests that no amount of bricks and mortar can replace the nuts and bolts of technical excellence – and that one of the most important pieces of the puzzle is currently missing.
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The long road to competitiveness
Newey’s simulator timeline – up to two years – serves as a cold reality check for those expecting an overnight turnaround. Even with the brainpower he brings to the table, Aston Martin cannot magically leap into title contention in 2025, or perhaps even 2026.
“It’s a project,” he said. “We know where we want to go, but we need the right tools to get there.”
That journey could prove frustrating, particularly for team owner Lawrence Stroll, whose aggressive ambition and financial commitment have defined Aston Martin’s rise. The recruitment of Fernando Alonso, the construction of the team’s state-of-the-art headquarters and now the signing of Newey – each move was intended to signal a serious bid for championship glory.
But the simulator issue shows just how far Aston Martin still has to go before it can consistently threaten the likes of McLaren, Ferrari or Red Bull. It’s one thing to have ambition. It’s another to build a foundation that can actually deliver.
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In the midst of these sobering truths, however, there is still cause for optimism. If there is one individual who has proven time and again that he can transform a team’s fortunes, it is Adrian Newey. His career reads like a blueprint for turning potential into performance.
And importantly, he doesn’t just identify problems – he sets the course. By highlighting the simulator’s shortcomings so early on, Newey has put a stake in the ground. This is where change begins, not where it ends. And if his past is any indicator, he will not stop until the team is living up to its potential.
This is about more than hardware upgrades. It’s about culture, systems, structure – and yes, software that works. Aston Martin is now in the hands of someone who won’t settle for half measures.
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The fog of transition
From now on, Aston Martin is in limbo: too big to be an outsider, too undercooked to be a frontrunner. And while Newey’s presence brings clarity, it also confirms that the team is not ready to win.
That may frustrate fans, investors and even some in the garage. But at least it is an honest assessment. Getting to the top in modern F1 isn’t just about spending or star signings – it’s about laying the foundations.
Newey is starting that process now. But his stark admission in Monaco is a reminder to all: Aston Martin’s journey has only just begun – and until their tools catch up, they’ll be racing into the fog.
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With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
