The worst-kept secret in Formula 1 is finally out in the world for all to see: Adrian Newey will suit up in British Racing Green for Aston Martin from 2025. Newey is widely regarded as the final piece of Team Owner Lawrence Stroll’s big-money jigsaw to turn the Silverstone-based Aston Martin squad into world champions. There are few excuses left with Newey on board, the time to win is imminent.
Newey’s lengthy tenure at Red Bull brought with it title glory and confirmed the Briton’s status as one of the greatest designers in Formula 1’s history. Still, with his May announcement that he would leave the team during the first quarter of 2025, attention turned quickly to where he’d land next. Given Newey’s record, it was no wonder several teams enquired with designs to secure his services. Ferrari and even Williams enquired but it soon became clear that Aston Martin was the preferred destination for the 65-year-old.
Tuesday’s announcement followed rumours of secret Silverstone site visits and was previewed by wide reporting last week that a £30 million a year deal was coming. Aston Martin’s new Managing Technical Partner will take up his post in March next year and along with holding shares in the overall business, Stroll has put Newey in charge of all technical aspects. With state-of-the-art tools, facilities, leading staff and a championship pedigree, Newey and Aston Martin is a match made in heaven, on paper.
First, let’s talk Newey. His stints at Williams, McLaren and Red Bull have contributed to 25 F1 World Championships (Constructors’ and Drivers’ combined). At Williams, he contributed to the FW14B and FW15C, two of the most dominant cars of the period, utilising cutting-edge technology such as active ride to beat the competition. At McLaren, he helped the Woking-based squad steal a march over the rest of the field when F1 went to narrow track cars and grooved tyres, with the net result being two Drivers’ titles for Mika Hakkinen and the 1998 Constructors’ title. Further title success eluded Newey until he joined upstart F1 project Red Bull ahead of its second season in 2006. Three years later, Red Bull capitalised on new regulations to deliver race victories and in 2010 went above and beyond to springboard into a run of four successive double-championships.
Red Bull would enter a title drought when F1 went hybrid, owing to an underpowered Renault engine, but it rebuilt itself in partnership with Honda, elevating Max Verstappen to his first world title in 2021. Newey then helped steer the Milton-Keynes-based side in the right direction when ground effect-dominated aero regs returned to F1 for the first time in four decades, culminating in 2023’s RB19, the most-dominant F1 car of all time, winning all but one race in a single calendar year.
In summary, Newey is a master of F1 technical innovation and major swings in the technical regulations. 2026 brings forth a heavily revised ruleset to F1 and with work set to begin for that campaign in the New Year, Aston Martin will be keen to see Newey sprinkle his magic dust and interpret those regs better than the rest.
The brand new state-of-the-art wind tunnel at Aston Martin’s impressive Silverstone campus will be ready to receive Newey’s wisdom. Class leading tech combined with a class-leading mind. Moreover, Newey’s collaborators on this project are impressive. Technical Director Dan Fallows knows Aston’s new hire well, having worked together for several years at Red Bull and the duo will get to work with incoming Chief Technical Officer Enrico Cardile next year once his gardening leave from Ferrari concludes. That is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to F1 thinking so one would expect the trio to yield strong results from the new wind tunnel at Silverstone and Newey is greatly looking forward to mucking in.
“I think what Lawrence and Martin [Whitmarsh] have built here, these facilities are just stunning,” he said. “It’s not an easy thing to do to build a brand new factory in a greenfield site and have a really nice, warm, creative feel to it. Because after all that’s what we’re here for, to try to be creative and to come up with good solutions. Particularly with good communication between everybody that works here. I’ve seen some new buildings that haven’t quite fulfilled that. But this one has a great feel, the proportions are right, it has all the facilities. Yes, you’re absolutely right. I’m so looking forward to starting, to getting to know everybody here. To work with them and go from there.”
Plenty of the talk regarding the 2026 regulations is focused on the power units. Sustainable fuels and a greater reliance on electrification have many speculating that 2026 will be an engine-dominated formula, akin to hybrid’s introduction in 2014. To that end, Aston Martin is again well-poised to succeed thanks to its works engine partnership with Honda that will coincide with the new regulations. Honda powered Verstappen’s first title and subsequent follow-ups incognito, so Aston Martin knows it has a potent partner on its hands and one that Newey has a close working relationship with. “I’ll be very pleased to stay working with Honda,” Newey said. “I’ve really enjoyed working with them over the last six years at Red Bull. Great bunch of engineers, very easy to work with.”
When it comes to fuel, Aston’s title partner Aramco is one of the best-funded and knowledgable in the sector and no doubt will conjure an impressive mixture to help power the Honda engine.
Much like Red Bull had resources and potential at its fingertips ahead of Newey’s arrival in 2006, like Aston Martin now, it didn’t know how to combine those into world titles. Aston Martin must leverage Newey’s knowledge as it has everything and more to deliver a championship in 2026 and Stroll pointed to the fact he is a vitally important piece of the puzzle.
“There’s been many pieces as a puzzle from when we started six years ago to hiring the great management team we have today,” he said. “To bringing in two of the greatest partners in the industry. We’ve brought Aramco to be our partner and they really are a partner. There’s no better partnership in the world than we have with Aramco. And to be able to bring Honda exclusively to work for us for the next five years after the new regulation starts. Our partners are also tremendously important. Adrian is key, key, key and the biggest part of the puzzle. Certainly from a technical point of view, from a leadership point of view. Know that he will be leading the team. And I think that will have a trickle down effect throughout the whole organisation.”
However, potential is all very well and good, as is a strong list of ingredients, but with it comes expectation. Expectations at Aston Martin for 2026 couldn’t be higher. It’s why Fernando Alonso is happy to race well into his mid-forties. The Spaniard believes this is his best shot to rekindle past glories.
Expectation.
If Newey can’t bring title success to Aston Martin with the tools he’ll have at his disposal, then nobody can. If that is the case, questions will be asked, accusations potentially thrown and Stroll will be looking at his grand investment wondering why he even bothered.
However, the risk of falling short is far outweighed by the potential pot of gold at the end of Stroll’s Aston Martin investment rainbow.
