Aston Martin reveals: This is what Adrian Newey is doing to make the team successful in 2026

Since joining the Silverstone-based Formula 1 team, Adrian Newey has been quietly shaping Aston Martin’s plans for the 2026 season. Team principal Andy Cowell has now revealed just how significant Newey’s influence has been — not only on long-term development but also on the team’s current upgrade package.

"So when Adrian joined at the beginning of March we said right we need Adrian to focus on 2026 and the architecture of the car. Which is what he's primarily been focused on. Lunchtime conversations have not just included what he's eating and what he's been doing at the weekend, It's also included conversations about our existing car, the 25 car and what might be issues," Cowell began in the Monte Carlo paddock

Cowell praised Newey's impact, stating that the star designer is the key to success for Aston Martin in 2026. "On the 2026 architecture, he's probably one of the few engineers in the sport that can look at the whole aspect of the car. It's not just aerodynamic genius, it's a car architectural genius and pushes down to every last bit of detail including thinking about how you would change the setup in FP1, FP2, and FP3. So he's covering the whole spectrum of a successful championship season," he added.

When asked by GPblog for an example of what Newey has changed since joining the team, Cowell quickly responded: "I guess we've provided the infrastructure to work with Adrian, a drawing board and quickly getting that into the wind tunnel.

"That's different, but I guess principally what he's providing is an assessment of how good each of the steps is that we're using from idea to output. From the wind tunnel, and that's both in terms of how strong each area is and that's accuracy, but also time frame because this is an industry where you want every single learning loop to be as fast as possible. However, it needs to be precise. So he's providing us an assessment on both of those," the former Mercedes man explained.

Newey will be present at the circuit on behalf of Aston Martin during the Monaco Grand Prix. It is his first appearance at a race as part of Aston Martin since leaving Red Bull. "I'm really, really keen that the engineering machine at Silverstone creates a great race car. We bring it to a circuit, we absolutely maximise the performance of the car and strategically pick up every single point and then we feedback on what's missing and we go again. As you say, Adrian's seen a big chunk of the factory world, he'll see the first race of the circuit world and it just helps link it all together."