Formula 1 News: Newey insists he can handle team boss role

(GMM) Adrian Newey’s (pictured) increasingly visible presence at Aston Martin – first in Qatar, now in Abu Dhabi – is being taken as the clearest sign yet that he is ramping into his new role at full speed ahead of the 2026 rules revolution.

Having attended only one other race all year, the design legend is suddenly ever-present – and candid about why. Aston’s final pre-Newey car simply wasn’t good enough, and the new era demands his direct control.

“This year’s car has been a disappointment for everyone – it has been difficult to drive and difficult to set up,” he told DAZN in Abu Dhabi.

Next year, everything changes. Aston will debut its first fully Newey-led chassis, paired with Honda’s works power unit and – also for the first time in team history – an in-house gearbox. The scale of integration is so vast that Newey is taking over as team boss, replacing Andy Cowell.

“Andy, very generously, decided to personally handle that part,” Newey said. “He began to realize that, with next year’s complex power units and the integration between Honda, Aramco, and us, everything needed to be perfectly coordinated.

“He was concerned that some details might start to get lost along the way.”

Some in the paddock worry that running the team could distract Newey from his technical genius, but he brushed that aside.

“The main difference is dealing with the media and a few other details, but little else,” he said.

On the 2026 project, he is openly enthusiastic. “It allows us to work very closely on engine integration,” he said. “And for the first time in a long time, we have to manufacture our own gearbox, which means creating a completely new department.”

Newey insists, however, that when he left Red Bull amid his former team’s leadership turmoil, he didn’t initially intend to switch to Aston.

“The truth is, when I left Red Bull I had no idea what would come next,” said the 66-year-old.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my career. I feel very fortunate to have been part of this sport. And I thought that if I continued working, I should do it following my passion. That’s exactly what I’ve done.”

Aston’s other major asset for 2026, of course, is Fernando Alonso – who insists he has just delivered one of the best personal seasons of his career at age 44.

“I don’t need to say it – the stopwatch has the final say,” he told Spanish media. “It’s one of the worst in terms of results, but personally, one of the best. It’s impossible to explain, and I don’t want anyone at home to understand it, because they won’t, and that’s how it has to be.

“Here in the paddock, this is surely one of the years I’ve valued the most, and I feel the most respected.”