Is Aston Martin still an interesting option for Verstappen after this statement?

12:20, 07 Jun

byTobia Elia

Max Verstappen is not planning to leave Red Bull Racing for another team after the coming season. However, if the Dutchman were to look for a new team, Aston Martin could still be an option. The British team has expressed the ambition to become a top team within a few months.

Adrian Newey was recently very cautious. The master designer said it might take up to two years before Aston Martin stands a serious chance at the world title. The Brit pointed out, for example, that the correlation between the wind tunnel and the actual data from the circuit differ - a significant challenge if you want to make an F1 car as fast as possible.

Andy Cowell

Cowell downplays Newey's comments

However, Andy Cowell, the team principal of Aston Martin who joined the team from Mercedes in 2024, thinks it's not as bleak as Newey suggests. In the podcast James Allen on F1, the Brit, reacting to his new colleague, the Briton said: “Everything we do can and must improve. Adrian thinks the same way''.

''The great thing about Adrian is that he knows what level we need to achieve. So he sets high standards. I enforce strict standards within the organization. And then it's about how quickly we can get there.”

So Cowell asked himself: “Will it take us two years to get there? No, that's not the case. Does Adrian provoke people [with these statements]? Absolutely. Just like Lawrence [Stroll], Fernando [Alonso], Lance [Stroll], myself, and many others within the organization."

According to the team principal, everyone is motivated to prove Newey wrong. “Everyone in the factory whom I have spoken to and who works with the design team says, 'Well, let's show him! We'll make it months instead of years."