Adrian Newey has entered \u201ca trance\u201d as the Formula 1 design guru continues work on the Aston Martin AMR26 car for the F1 2026 season.<\/p>\n
That is the claim of Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll, who believes \u201call the pieces of the puzzle\u201d are coming together for the Silverstone-based team.<\/p>\n
Lance Stroll: Adrian Newey \u2018in a trance\u2019 working on Aston Martin AMR26<\/p>\n
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher<\/p>\n
Newey, the most decorated individual in F1 history with more than 200 race wins and a combined 26 Drivers\u2019 and Constructors\u2019 titles to his name, officially linked up with Aston Martin in March following a highly productive stint at Red Bull.<\/p>\n
The 66-year-old was appointed to the newly created role of managing technical partner, as well fulfilling a long-held ambition of becoming a team shareholder.<\/p>\n
Newey is currently working on Aston Martin\u2019s first car \u2013 expected to be named the AMR26 \u2013 for the new F1 2026 rules, which will see the sport embrace 50 per cent electrification, fully sustainable fuels and active aerodynamics as the chassis and engine regulations are overhauled simultaneously.<\/p>\n
Adrian Newey: Aston Martin\u2019s ticket to the top of F1?<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udc49\u00a0Adrian Newey\u2019s to-do list: The five most important Aston Martin tasks<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0Explained: Adrian Newey\u2019s job title and how Aston Martin\u2019s technical structure will look<\/a><\/p>\n Next season will mark the start of Aston Martin\u2019s highly anticipated partnership with Honda, the current engine supplier of the Red Bull team.<\/p>\n Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com ahead of this weekend\u2019s Dutch Grand Prix, Stroll quipped that Newey \u201cis in a trance\u201d as work steps up on the AMR26.<\/p>\n And he claimed that the stars are finally aligning for Aston Martin following a lean couple of years, with the pieces in place for the team to make significant strides in F1 2026.<\/p>\n Stroll said: \u201cAdrian right now is in a trance focused on drawing next year\u2019s car.<\/p>\n \u201cWe spent some time together and it\u2019s always great just hearing what he has to say and just talking about the future.<\/p>\n \u201cBut right now, it\u2019s full focus on making next year\u2019s machine.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been doing it for this long and he\u2019s won more championships than anyone in this paddock, so I guess that says it all.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked why he smiles so much when talking about Newey, he replied: \u201cI think there\u2019s not much reason not to smile about Adrian Newey making next year\u2019s car, so it\u2019s all exciting times.\u201d<\/p>\n Put to him that Newey\u2019s status as a shareholder makes his relationship with Aston Martin different to other teams, Stroll said: \u201cYeah.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he\u2019s just so passionate and excited about the new regs.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s awesome to see, just how much passion, focus, effort is going into the new new regs and the team too.<\/p>\n \u201cJust being in a new environment, new team, he\u2019s just uplifting everyone and just creating this healthier culture inside of the whole factory.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s pretty awesome to see.\u201d<\/p>\n On Honda\u2019s arrival, Stroll added: \u201cAlso very exciting. All of it.<\/p>\n \u201cJust all the pieces of the puzzle coming together and it\u2019s just an exciting time for us as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n More on Aston Martin drivers Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 Lance Stroll news<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 Fernando Alonso news<\/a><\/p>\n Stroll\u2019s comments come after his Aston Martin team-mate, the two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso, outlined his enjoyment of the \u201clearning phase\u201d of establishing a working relationship with Newey<\/a>.<\/p>\n Asked if he is starting to understand how Newey thinks and works, Alonso told media including PlanetF1.com: \u201cYes, definitely.<\/p>\n \u201cYou spend more time with him and you keep learning things and how he works and how he approach things, challenges, all these normal day-by-day, things in Formula 1.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I think he\u2019s still a person that is very special and I think only few people will understand him fully and will be able to know exactly what he\u2019s thinking and what he\u2019s doing.<\/p>\n \u201cSo we will need more time. At the moment, we are in a phase of learning from him.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery conversation, every idea, everything that he says, we take it very carefully.<\/p>\n \u201cWe listen and we try to understand the approach that he\u2019s taking into that comment.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd thanks to that, I think we are growing as a team, so it has been very special for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked if he gets feels that Newey understands him too, Alonso pointed to Newey\u2019s ability to put himself in a driver\u2019s shoes will prove an advantage for Aston Martin.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cI think so!<\/p>\n \u201cI think all the questions and all the ideas that he raises, he explains why he thinks that it\u2019s going to be a good solution for the team, for the car and for the drivers as well.<\/p>\n \u201cIn terms of how to approach the corner entry, maybe next year is very different than this year\u2019s cars.<\/p>\n \u201cTop speed is going to be different next year. Tyres are going to be different next year.<\/p>\n \u201cSo he tries to anticipate what the drivers will face in certain moments on the lap, in quali, versus the race and all this kind of thing.<\/p>\n \u201cSo he\u2019s very educative.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier this year, Newey revealed that the F1 2026 regulations offer more scope for creativity and innovation that first feared \u2013 mirroring his comments about the 2022 rules, which opened the door for Red Bull to dominate with Max Verstappen.<\/p>\n Newey\u2019s remarks fuelled suggestions that the legendary designer has identified a potential loophole in the new ruleset, with former Sky F1 pundit and 1996 World Champion Damon Hill among those left convinced<\/a>.<\/p>\n Taking to social media at the time, Hill wrote: \u201cHmmm. He\u2019s found something.\u201d<\/p>\n