Adrian Newey: Aston Martin F1 Needs More in Aerodynamics

Aston Martin F1 tech chief Adrian Newey has identified the team's aerodynamics department as a key area needing strengthening. Newey, who officially joined Aston Martin as Managing Technical Partner on March 3, expressed encouragement about the team's facilities and the dynamic he has encountered at their Silverstone headquarters. However, he noted that while the team possesses top-tier hardware, it requires greater depth in personnel, particularly in aero, to fully realize its potential.

"Lawrence's vision has created a great facility – the best facility in F1 – but it is important that we now optimise how we use it," Newey stated. "F1 is about people. Yes, there is a lot of technology, but it's people who drive things forward."

He drew a comparison to his previous role, where a less advanced facility housed a highly effective team. "My previous team had one of the worst wind tunnels in F1 and operates out of an unremarkable series of buildings on an industrial estate, but it managed to get everybody working together and developed a great group of people," he said. "We have many talented people – also a few areas that need strengthening with greater numbers – and we need to get everyone working together better, using these tools and developing our abilities."

One key area for change

Newey specifically pointed to the aerodynamics department as needing more staff to handle the upcoming 2026 regulations. "It's always difficult when you have a big regulation change like this and all teams are resource-limited, because of the budget cap and simply because of staffing levels," he explained. "One area of our team that needs to grow is the aerodynamics department."

He elaborated on the challenges of resource allocation under the budget cap and staffing constraints. "In the short term that means we've got to decide which directions are going to be the most fruitful and really concentrate our resources on those. Quite often, you have to go a long way down a certain branch before you know whether it's going to be a fruitful one or not."

Regarding the team's current 2025 season performance, Newey indicated his limited involvement in immediate improvements. "Lawrence understandably wants us to do as well as we can in 2025 so there's a small team still working on this year's car from an aerodynamics point of view," he added. "I've had a few lunchtime conversations with that small group, discussing the car and what we can do about it."