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Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey has given new insight into the cause of the team’s dire problems with its 2026 car and how it intends to address them.
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The 67-year-old also confirmed he has suffered health problems since taking charge at the team which compromised his work.
The team faced high expectations prior to 2026 following its tie-up with Honda and the huge investment in its new factory by owner Lawrence Stroll. However Newey said many of the problems the team faced in developing and building the AMR26 were rooted in old working systems which had not yet been updated.
“We were relying on tools and processes that had been patched and bodged for years,” said Newey in an interview for the team’s website. “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. At some point, a system that’s just patch‑on‑patch stops being fit for purpose. That’s where we had got to.
“The result was a very frustrating car build. Parts weren’t being ordered at the right time – not because people weren’t doing their jobs, but because the underlying system was failing them.”
Having made a late start on developing their car for F1’s new 2026 regulations, Aston Martin discovered problems with integrating its Honda power unit, which forced more compromises upon it.
“On the chassis side, we’re quite a long way overweight,” said Newey. “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. When you design in a rush, weight is the first thing that suffers because you don’t have the time to thoroughly optimise everything.
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“Aerodynamically, we also took a bold direction – which was largely pushed by me – 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.”
Having decided to spend the opening races prioritising reliability, the team has introduced no performance upgrades for the AMR26 all year. Newey confirmed both drivers will have the benefit of a substantially redeveloped car at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the last round before the summer break.
“The main structural elements remain the same,” he said, “the chassis and gearbox architecture don’t fundamentally change. But we’ve taken weight out of both, which required re-homologating and crash-testing the forward chassis.
“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.”
Despite its struggles, the team scored a single point in Monaco courtesy of star driver Fernando Alonso. However the two-times world champion turns 45 next month, and Newey admitted the likelihood of him continuing to race for them next year will be strongly influenced by the performance of the upgraded car.
“It’s very important,” said Newey. “Fernando is really looking forward to the upgrade and, if it performs we hope he’ll be in the cockpit for another season.
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“Given his experience, his feel for the car, his ability to guide development, he’s a tremendous asset. But he wants to see clear, tangible progress. If we can show that we’re moving decisively in the right direction, he’s absolutely committed to being behind the wheel.”
On top of the team’s car trouble, Newey confirmed he has suffered health problems which have compromised his work. “I’m okay now, but it’s been a difficult period,” he said. “As I said earlier, it never rains but it pours.
“In truth, I was not 100 per cent last year. I had to balance health and work much more carefully. The team handled it incredibly well. I kept a very good relationship with the engineers and I don’t feel it caused too much of a blip. That’s a testament to how adaptable and supportive everyone here is.”
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