Newey primed for ‘very intense’ start to Aston Martin stint

Adrian Newey expects his initial time at Aston Martin to be “very intense” as he tries to integrate himself into the team at the same time as catching up on the 2026 technical regulations. The current Red Bull chief technical officer will be able to start at Aston Martin in March of next year, with the new technical regulations being released by the FIA for teams to work on from the beginning of January. Newey says it will lead to a particularly challenging spell with his new team, but one he is relishing. “So I start in March ’25. It’s going to be a very intense period of course because by then the aerodynamic rules for 2026 will have been out for two months,” Newey said. “So I will have the challenge of understanding how the team operates, getting to know everybody and trying to lend my guidance, I suppose is perhaps the best way of putting it, and learning to work with the team. Because that’s what I enjoy doing, working with everybody. “So, starting two months behind the ball but with the extra challenge of getting to know everybody and understand how everybody works. It’s going to be a very intense period, for sure, but I’m very looking forward to that challenge and getting on with it. “What do I hope to bring here? It’s a very good question. I have no agenda, I just like working with everybody and hopefully with that sort of spirit we can all extract the best out of each other.” The move to Aston Martin also sees Newey continue working with Red Bull’s current power unit partner Honda, which was another plus point when it came to picking his next destination. “ a very impressive company,” he said. “They’re quite humble and modest in their promises, but experience so far has always been that what they promise, they deliver, and they’re very straightforward to work with. “The ’26 rules of course are an opportunity because they’ll be a reset for everybody. Whether we’ll be able to capitalize on that or not, we just don’t know. I never spend too long pressing about these things. You’ve just got to get on and do the best job you can and what will be will be at that point.”