F1 News: Newey attracting talent to Aston Martin

(GMM) The ‘Adrian Newey effect’ is already happening at Aston Martin, according to team ambassador Pedro de la Rosa.

Pedro de la Rosa of Spain and Aston Martin F1 Team looks on during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco at Circuit de Monaco on May 22, 2025 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. (Photo by Zak Mauger/LAT Images for Aston Martin)

The Spaniard and former Formula 1 driver is not talking about actual on-track performance, as Newey’s contributions to the 2025 car so far have actually been minimal.

Rather, de la Rosa says talented engineers are now starting to flock to the Silverstone based team.

“The change is tremendous,” he told Soy Motor.

“Since the announcement that Newey was coming to us, there has been a complete shift. More people want to come and work at Aston Martin, from the other teams yes but especially from the universities.

“It’s something no one had thought could happen, but it’s happening because young engineers want to work with real experts like that to learn more quickly.

“It’s something you sometimes don’t appreciate, as we always look to Adrian Newey as the one who builds winning cars, but for us, the new generation of Neweys who want to work with him are very important too, because they will be the future of Aston Martin.

“Sometimes we focus on the big names, but teams win thanks to everything – the big names but also the unsung heroes who will one day occupy that position.”

Interestingly, 54-year-old de la Rosa also revealed that although Honda is still supplying engines to Red Bull, the Japanese manufacturer is already working with Aston Martin on the 2026 project.

“We work with Honda every day,” said the Spaniard. “Luca Furbatto, our head of design, works with Honda every day. We’ve designed a gearbox ourselves for the first time, and it has to be perfectly matched to the engine.

“The exchange of information between Aston Martin and Honda is daily, and many of our engineers go to Honda and Honda engineers come to the factory. Right now it’s difficult to tell who is from Aston Martin and who is from Honda, because we’re working on the same team.”

Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher, who according to Germany’s Sport1 has enraged Red Bull with his latest criticisms, thinks the exact opposite effect as was described by de la Rosa is now occurring at the reigning champions.

“The truth is is that it’s not just important employees who left Red Bull because of (Christian) Horner,” he told Sky Deutschland. “There are also talented engineers who don’t want to go to Red Bull as long as Horner is in charge.

“Max Verstappen should also think about that when it comes to his future,” Schumacher added.