Why Newey's hidden strength has given his Aston Martin F1 team a major lift

Speaking to GPblog among other media in Bahrain, the Spaniard believes the team’s dynamics have not changed dramatically, but that the presence of a figure like Newey has brought absolute clarity — removing doubt from decision-making and ensuring everyone now knows exactly what they need to do.

“I don’t think the team has changed that much. We are the same people, it’s the same group. The only real difference is that since Adrian arrived, his leadership is unquestionable. For example, after a very difficult day of testing here in Bahrain, his technical support and the strength of his leadership were clear.”

He then added: “Everyone in the team knows exactly what they have to do, and that is very different from previous years, when everyone might have had their own theory about things. Adrian is very clear on what needs to be done — and no one raises their hand to question that.”

Aston Martin’s start to 2026 has been far from smooth. After only just making it out for the Barcelona shakedown, the team ran into reliability issues during the first Bahrain test, completing just 206 laps across the three days — fewer than Williams, despite the Grove outfit skipping Barcelona altogether.

Even so, Alonso struck an optimistic note heading into the second Bahrain test. The two-time world champion explained that there is still significant lap time to be unlocked. The Spanish driver is optimistic about the 2026 season -