From the outside, it\u2019s been a challenging season for Aston Martin, with the team consigned to the back row of the grid more often than not \u2013 but Team Principal Adrian Newey has divulged exactly why they\u2019ve struggled so much, and why the fairytale of the design supremo joining forces with the squad hasn\u2019t quite come to fruition yet. We\u2019ve picked out some of the most eye-opening revelations as he offered a look behind the curtain\u2026<\/p>\n
No ‘proper’ power unit running until FP3 in Australia<\/p>\n
While other teams were taking every opportunity to get to grips with the new era of cars during pre-season, Aston Martin<\/a> were already encountering major problems. First, they arrived late<\/a> to the Barcelona Shakedown, and then their power unit troubles severely limited their track time over two weeks of testing in Bahrain.<\/p>\n The combination of drivers, Newey and a Honda-powered engine looked impressive on paper, but the reality painted a much harsher picture. Their early reliability and performance concerns meant that they arrived at the season opener in Australia<\/a> with little idea of what to expect, and even less information on whether they\u2019d make it through the weekend.<\/p>\n In an interview on the team’s official website<\/a>, Newey admitted: “Melbourne was the wake\u2011up call. Because of various power unit challenges, our first proper running was actually Free Practice 3 at the Australian Grand Prix.<\/p>\n “Before that, in Barcelona and at the two Bahrain tests, we spent too much time in the garage just trying to get the power unit to run correctly with the chassis and gearbox.<\/p>\n “You know the idiom, ‘it never rains, but it pours’, and this is one of those classic cases where it felt like everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.”<\/p>\n Outdated systems from the Jordan era<\/p>\n What is now Lawrence Stroll\u2019s team has its origins in Jordan, which first competed in Formula 1 back in 1991. A series of rebrands took place over the years before the Canadian businessman took over in 2018, with Aston Martin getting involved a few years later.<\/p>\n While much has been said about their state-of-the-art facilities<\/a> in Silverstone, Newey revealed that not everything is shiny and new \u2013 in fact, some elements of their base lingered from the Jordan days.<\/p>\n “We were relying on tools and processes that had been patched and bodged for years \u2013 you could trace some of them right back to the very early days of the Jordan team that was based here in Silverstone, long before Aston Martin returned to the grid,” he said. “At some point, a system that’s just patch\u2011on\u2011patch stops being fit for purpose. That’s where we had got to.<\/p>\n “The result was a very frustrating car build. Parts weren’t being ordered at the right time \u2013 not because people weren’t doing their jobs, but because the underlying system was failing them.”<\/p>\n The \u2018bold\u2019 Newey design that has ‘thrown up challenges\u2019<\/p>\n With this season\u2019s refreshed regulations first publicly shared in June 2024, it was up to each team when they wanted to switch development to the new generation of cars. For Aston Martin, that turned out to be just over a year ago \u2013 much later than many of their rivals.<\/p>\n The delay caused a domino effect. \u201cSerious work\u201d on their 2026 challenger didn\u2019t begin until mid-March of 2025, so no models were tested in the wind tunnel until a month later, which meant that Newey had to continue designing without putting in his usual level of attention and care, ultimately creating \u201ca huge gap to close\u201d.<\/p>\n “On the chassis side, we’re quite a long way overweight,” the team boss added. “Some of that comes from integrating the power unit and dealing with vibration issues we’ve had to work through with Honda, but we also didn’t do as good a job as we should have on our side at saving weight.<\/p>\n “When you design in a rush, weight is the first thing that suffers because you don’t have the time to thoroughly optimise everything.<\/p>\n “Aerodynamically, we also took a bold direction \u2013 which was largely pushed by me \u2013 without the luxury of exploring multiple concepts in depth because time was against us. I wouldn’t say the direction we’ve taken is fundamentally wrong, but it has thrown up challenges we didn’t anticipate.”<\/p>\n A big upgrade package is coming for Hungary<\/p>\n Since the Miami Grand Prix<\/a>, it\u2019s seemed like teams have brought rafts of upgrades to every round, often intending to make small gains and adapt their cars to the unique characteristics of each circuit.<\/p>\n Aston Martin, contrastingly, made a \u201cpainful decision\u201d not to follow that pattern. As those around them have continued to consistently add performance and target their weaknesses, the team have “effectively been standing still in relative terms, so each weekend can feel more painful than the last,” as Newey explained.<\/p>\n He revealed that the reason for this was that the team and their partners are focused on long-term ambitions, and felt that pushing through the \u201ctrying period\u201d would help them emerge stronger so they can direct resources towards more substantial progress in upcoming seasons.<\/p>\n However, they haven\u2019t written off 2026 completely and will introduce a big upgrade package at the Hungarian Grand Prix<\/a>, which is set to take place over the weekend of July 24-26.<\/p>\n Newey said: “The main structural elements remain the same \u2013 the chassis and gearbox architecture don’t fundamentally change \u2013 but we’ve taken weight out of both, which required re-homologating and crash testing the forward chassis.<\/p>\n “The front suspension is unchanged. The rear suspension is slightly revised. We’ve developed a new nose and substantially revised aerodynamic surfaces. So, while the core structure is similar, it’s a big aerodynamic package coupled with significant weight reduction. The target is to get very close to the weight limit.”<\/p>\n Aston Martin have also switched to producing many of their components \u2013 including the floor and gearbox casing \u2013 in-house as opposed to outsourcing them, giving them greater control and flexibility over feedback and costs.<\/p>\n Asked how much improvement the upgrades will bring, Newey said: “We’re predicting a large step, but I’m reluctant to put specific numbers out there because our simulation tools aren’t yet as sophisticated or well correlated as they need to be.<\/p>\n “Historically, at this team, there hasn’t been enough investment in engineering simulation tools \u2013 not just project management systems, but the core physics tools themselves. We’re putting that investment in now, but you don’t rewrite and validate those tools overnight. Correlating them properly with the real car takes time.<\/p>\n “At the moment, they’re improving, but the real gains from that work will come later in the year.”<\/p>\n How Aston Martin are keeping ‘competitive animal’ Alonso on board<\/p>\n Aside from their on-track difficulties, a thorn in the side of Aston Martin has been Fernando Alonso<\/a>\u2019s public declaration that he is considering his options for next season<\/a>, with one possibility being that he retires as a driver.<\/p>\n He stated ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix<\/a> that he is committed to remaining with the team<\/a> even if he doesn\u2019t race for them in F1, but any decision will be made once he has seen how much their upgrades improve performance.<\/p>\n The two-time World Champion previously enjoyed eight podium finishes with Aston Martin in 2023 and has spoken of their lofty ambitions, but scoring a single point in Monaco<\/a> and suffering four retirements \u2013 including at his home race in Barcelona \u2013 doesn\u2019t quite match his expectations.<\/p>\n