Helmut Marko says his former Red Bull colleague Adrian Newey is “not doing well” amid Aston Martin’s woeful start to the 2026 Formula 1 season.
F1 design legend Newey joined Aston Martin in March last year as managing technical partner after 20 years at Red Bull before surprisingly taking on the team principal role after Andy Cowell was moved into a new position.
It has been a nightmare start to the season for Aston Martin with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll yet to complete a grand prix distance at the opening two F1 races.
Aston Martin’s AMR26, the first to be designed by Newey, is badly off the pace and is beset by severe vibrations from Honda’s new power unit, leaving the team last in the championship.
Former Red Bull advisor Marko shed some light on the situation after revealing he had been in touch with Newey.
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“I had contact with him. He is not doing well. With this project, there are problems that will not be solved so quickly,” Marko told Austrian publication OE24.
Newey is set to step back from his team leadership role at Aston Martin. Such a move would free up F1’s most successful designer to focus entirely on car performance and technical matters.
Jonathan Wheatley has been approached by Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll about taking over as team principal.
Wheatley, who worked alongside Newey at Red Bull for 18 years, made a surprise departure from Audi on Friday after less than a year in the team boss role.
The 58-year-old Briton would have to serve a period of gardening leave before joining another F1 team.
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Marko tips Verstappen and Red Bull to bounce back
Marko also spoke about the difficult start to the season Red Bull has endured with its first-ever in-house power unit.
Red Bull’s RB22 has proved troublesome to drive and been hit with reliability problems, with Max Verstappen forced to retire from the Chinese Grand Prix.
The four-time world champion sits eighth in the drivers’ standings having scored only eight points across the first two weekends.
But Marko believes Verstappen and Red Bull can recover from what has been a torrid start to the campaign.
“Red Bull is known for being able to catch up quickly and effectively,” the 82-year-old Austrian said “So, anything is still possible.
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“The good thing is that the two April races have been cancelled, which gives them even more time.”
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