There are few who regularly tune in for their F1 fix now 24 weekends a year who do not wish Fernando Alonso a third word championship drivers’ title. The Spaniard’s relatively meagre haul of two titles came early in his career as the might of the Renault automotive company hit its stride in 2005-6.

Yet a combination of poor decisions over which team may be next up to challenge for honours combined with a fiery Spanish mentality and uncompromising competitive approach left Fernando with strained relationships up and down the paddock.

Alonso is considered by many to be one of the most complete F1 drivers ever, but his prime coincided with a period of dominance by two teams he was competing against in Red Bull – double champions 2010-13 – and Mercedes who were uber dominant from 2014-2020.

 

 

 

Stark warning for Aston Martin

That said, Fernando was close to winning two further championships, firstly in 2010 when in the season finale he was stuck behind Vitaly Petrov for most of the race and again in 2012 where a late season surge from Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull again pipped him to the post.

Alonso’s mix of misjudged team moves, political clashes, and being just outside dominant machinery limited his title haul — but his raw ability remains among the greatest in F1 history. Now, Fernando’s latest team are in prime position to deliver what many F1 fans would love to see, a third Alonso championship. Their state of heart $200m facility in Silverstone is finally fully operational and with their swoop for Adrian Newey they have one of the finest F1 car designers in history.

Championship winning powertrain manufacturer Honda is set to become the ‘works’ partner for Aston Martin in 2026 and their epic winning history suggests they will bring one of the most powerful new engines to the F1 grid. Managing technical partner, Adrian Newey stated earlier this year that the team was suffering from correlation issues particularly surrounding its driver simulation loop.

At his first public outing in their green liveried overalls in Monaco, Newey was candid over where Aston Martin currently stand. “I think it is fair to say that some of our tools are weak, particularly the driver in the loop simulator. It needs a lot of work because it’s not correlating at all at the moment, which is a fundamental research tool. Not having that is a limitation.

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Hope for 2026 marginalised

“But we’ve just got to work around it in the meantime and then sort out a plan to get it to where it needs to be. But that’s probably a two-year project in truth.” Despite this apparent weakness within the Aston Martin F1 project, Newey believes the future is bright because F1 remains to be about the ingenuity of individuals.

“The factory is probably the best factory in F1, and the windtunnel is arguably the best wind tunnel in F1. Windtunnels nowadays are quite complicated tools, so it’s still in a development process. Productivity is not quite there, because we are still kind of working through it.

“But ultimately, wind tunnels are a bit like engine dynos. You need them and a really good wind tunnel, of course, you’d rather have that compared to a not so good wind tunnel. But ultimately, it’s not really the thing that makes the difference. It’s the human element. It’s the design you put into it,” Newey concluded.

Six months on from this interview, Adrian Newey has again emerged from the shadows on the James Allen on F1 podcast. Again he appears to be hedging his bets as he claims the current big four should again be the top of the pile in 2026.

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Top teams will remain unchallenged

“It’s difficult to judge because of this big regulation change, everybody has a bit of a reset,” Newey told James Allen. “Chances are that the top teams this year will be the top teams next year. 

“But occasionally there’s a bit of disruption. It happened last time there was a big regulation change in 2009, when Ferrari and McLaren, who are the big ones in 2008, floundered. Brawn and Red Bull came forward. So it does happen, but by and large, the same teams kind of teams tend to keep on at the top.”

Adrian Newey has almost exclusively been working on Aston Martin’s 2026 F1 project despite the temptation to dabble with the 2025 car for some headline glory. Further he has set about revolutionising the way the team go about their business enforcing first engineering principles must be at the forefront of what the team does.

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Aston CEO Andy Cowell was speaking on the BBC chequered flag podcast last month. He revealed, “chatting to some of the mechanical engineers earlier this week, and they’re saying, ‘Adrian is all about first principles engineering.’

“I look at them and say, ‘Well, shouldn’t we all be about first-principles engineering? Adrian just brings that clear focus on chasing the pinnacle, which is wonderful for all the engineers to experience and is getting the whole business to think that way, where we’re chasing peak performance in record time. That’s how you do well in this industry, it’s actually remarkably simple.”

Of course Rome in F1 terms is also never built in a day and from joining the ashes of the Jaguar F1 team to Red Bull dominating in 2010 took four years of hard work. Four years of changing the philosophy of the design team to ensure they were ready to challenge for titles.

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It takes 3-4 years to build a winning F1 team

Newey is similarly managing expectations at Aston Martin, and when asked by James Allen how well the progress was being made, the engineer replied: “You ask, how’s it going? The honest truth is, I have got no idea. Because of this reset, you don’t know whether you’re doing good, bad or indifferent relative to the opposition, you have no knowledge of what they’re doing.”

For fans of Fernando, the hope will be that Newey can work his magic quickly. Now 44 years of age, the Spanish matador looks to have remained at near to his peak, as year in and out he beats his lack lustre team mate in son of the billionaire team owner, Lance Stroll.

Yet he does not have four more years to wait for a much deserved third drivers title and its up to Newey and Honda to ensure one of the F1 greats bows out in grandeur.

 

 

 

Hamilton replacement at Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton, as the team is said to have identified a clear successor to the seven-time world champion. While Hamilton’s arrival in Maranello was one of the biggest stories in Formula 1 history, the topic of his long-term future with the Scuderia is becoming increasingly uncertain. With his 41st birthday approaching and his performances under greater scrutiny, Ferrari appears to be planning for a generational shift behind the wheel.

The Hamilton-Ferrari partnership was never expected to last a decade. It was a high-profile union built on ambition, symbolism and the pursuit of one last shot at championship glory. Yet inside the team, there is a growing sense that the transition to a new era may be closer than expected. Although Hamilton’s contract reportedly runs until 2026, with fresh talent emerging within the Ferrari system and growing impatience within Maranello, the question is not only how long he will stay, but also who will take his place when he leaves.

According to several seasoned observers, Ferrari’s long-term planning has quietly been set in motion. The team is believed to already have its future star embedded within its driver development ranks, where he is learning, adapting, and preparing for his moment in the spotlight. And, if recent performances are anything to go by, that moment may be closer than anyone first thought…. READ MORE