Adrian Newey is one of the greatest car designers Formula One has ever seen. He has overseen 12 constructors’ titles and 14 drivers’ championships in his 46 years in the sport. Yet in November last year, he accepted a new challenge, taking over the Aston Martin team principal’s role from Andy Cowell.
Following a visit to Honda’s base in Japan, Newey and Cowell realized the Japanese manufacturer was way behind the curve in terms of their preparations for the all-new 2026 F1 power units. Cowell, who masterminded the all-conquering Mercedes V6 hybrid for the 2014 season, felt his skills would be better served focusing full-time on the Honda issue.
While Newey is a design and aerodynamic genius, his skills as the leader of an F1 team have left a lot to be desired. Known for pushing his design modifications to the very last minute, he failed to allow the Aston Martin production division enough time to manufacture the components and build the car in time for the first pre-season testing event in Barcelona.
Late on the fourth day of February, the AMR26 finally rolled onto the circuit with Lance Stroll at the wheel, but he was able to complete just five laps that day. Aston Martin and Honda discovered they had a massive problem with the car vibrating to such an extent that the drivers, and Alonso in particular, did not believe they could withstand the shaking for the length of a Grand Prix.
A Brutal Debut in Melbourne
Despite a six-week intervening period before the first Grand Prix of the year in Melbourne, such were the abnormal vibrations damaging the battery system and the chassis that Adrian Newey suggested his drivers might be limited to running for just 15 to 25 laps before suffering physical injury, due to the intensity of the vibration being transmitted to the steering wheel.
That said, the car was so unreliable that Alonso missed the entire first practice session, and the team had little meaningful running before qualifying on Saturday afternoon. Come the Grand Prix, Alonso was forced to retire with a mechanical issue on just lap 14, while Lance Stroll was not classified, finishing 15 laps down.
In an infamous fit of petulance, Newey spoke to reporters and chose to throw Aston Martin’s engine partner under the bus. In a somewhat arrogant fashion, he claimed Aston Martin had perhaps “the fifth-best chassis” on the grid and that the power unit was the sole source of the vibrations at the heart of their problems.
The Blame Game Deflected
Two race weekends later, Newey had still not been seen at the race track. On Honda’s home patch in Suzuka, a measured chief of the Honda Racing Corporation, Koji Watanabe, addressed the difficulties facing the Aston Martin-Honda partnership.
He explained that the vibrations were generated because the engine and chassis were operating on similar frequencies, which indicates a design flaw in the Aston Martin chassis. Further, paddock reports emerged to the effect that Newey—famous for his tight packaging of an F1 car—may not have allowed enough space in the battery housing for the compression system to be fitted.
Newey was not seen again until the Monaco Grand Prix, where he left all media responsibilities to his deputy, Pedro de la Rosa. The Spaniard had driven for McLaren when Newey was their technical director, and he assured the assembled media that since being reunited with him at Aston Martin, he saw no difference in him: “I see no difference whatsoever in Adrian. He’s working flat out, his work ethic is outstanding.”
De la Rosa went on to describe what he believes separates Newey from many modern engineers, highlighting his willingness to prioritize driver feedback over pure data analysis. “He’s one of those engineers that always listens to the driver more than anyone I’ve ever worked with,” De la Rosa explained.
Alonso Demands a Mindset Shift
Yet this is not the messaging coming from F1’s elder statesman, Fernando Alonso, who has been simmering most of the season to date about the lack of progress the Aston Martin team is making. Now, rumors of an Alonso return to Alpine appear to have stirred Newey into action, as he has apologized to his drivers for not keeping them in the loop over the plans to develop the AMR26.
He stated he felt compelled to spend time “going through with both Fernando and Lance exactly what we’re doing, what we have planned with the upgrade package, what we have planned through going into the ’27 season. While it might not seem like it, we are very much listening to their comments and trying to act upon it,” Newey insisted, as reported by The Race.
“If people don’t feel as if they’re being heard, then they of course get very frustrated; it’s human reactions. So perhaps we’ve been guilty of not spending enough time with Fernando and Lance, and Jak [Crawford, reserve driver] here, kind of going through exactly what we are trying to achieve with the upgrade package.”
The new leadership is clearly sending mixed messages to all corners of the team, with one executive suggesting Newey is always listening to his drivers, followed by an admission that Newey has been hunkered away working on a big upgrade for the AMR26, now expected in Hungary.
The B-Spec Mirage
At the British Grand Prix, Newey revealed the extent of the incoming changes: “The main structural elements remain the same – the chassis and gearbox architecture don’t fundamentally change – but we’ve taken weight out of both, which required re-homologating and crash testing the forward chassis. The front suspension is unchanged. The rear suspension is slightly revised. We’ve developed a new nose and substantially revised aerodynamic surfaces. So, while the core structure is similar, it’s a big aerodynamic package coupled with significant weight reduction. The target is to get very close to the weight limit.”
Most F1 analysts would describe this as a B-Spec car, yet Newey presumably doesn’t want to admit this, as it would suggest much of the blame for this disastrous season was not, in fact, the fault of Honda.
Suspicious of Aston Martin’s lack of progress this season, Fernando Alonso is calling for a change in mindset from the design team. “Whatever the upgrade is and whatever we can improve, it will never be enough. We will always miss an extra package… this is only the first step in the plan; it cannot be the last one.”
For Fernando, the team must now commit to a continuous, aggressive development loop rather than bringing nothing to the car for months and then hoping this new B-Spec car works exactly as the simulations suggest. Surely it is time for Lawrence Stroll to recognize his genius designer is being weighed down by the responsibilities of being team principal, and find another solution to free Newey up to do what he does best.
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A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
At TJ13, Andrew plays a central role in shaping the site’s output, working across breaking news, analysis, and long-form features. Andrew’s responsibilities include fact-checking, refining editorial structure, and ensuring consistency in reporting across a fast-moving news cycle.
Andrew’s work focuses particularly on the intersection of Formula 1 politics, regulation, and team strategy. Andrew closely follows developments involving the FIA, team leadership, and driver market dynamics, helping to provide context behind the sport’s biggest stories.
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