Montoya suggests Newey should 'stick to his shoes' and focus on design at Aston Martin

F1 legend Juan Pablo Montoya has advised Adrian Newey to "stick to his shoes" and return to focusing purely on car design, questioning whether the famed engineer is the right fit for the dual role of team principal at Aston Martin. This comes amid a difficult start to the 2026 season for the team and reports that Jonathan Wheatley is poised to join, potentially freeing Newey from managerial duties.

Why it matters:

Adrian Newey is arguably the greatest designer in Formula 1 history, and his focus is a critical asset. Having him split between technical innovation and the political, managerial demands of a team principal role could dilute his core strength. For Aston Martin, which is struggling with new power unit issues, ensuring its star technical mind is fully optimized is paramount to a recovery.

The details:

• For the 2026 season, Newey took on the role of Aston Martin team principal alongside his position as managing technical partner, a first in his career.
• The team has suffered a disastrous start under the new regulations, plagued by Honda power unit reliability problems that have limited mileage and performance.
• A specific battery fault even caused dangerous vibrations, leading to Fernando Alonso's retirement in China due to numbness in his hands and feet.
• Montoya, in an interview with RacingNews365, used the "stick to your shoes" analogy, implying people should focus on their core expertise.
  • He elaborated that Newey is a "technical guy, not a political guy," and that a team principal needs to be "very wise and very political," citing Toto Wolff's success as a benchmark.
• These comments align with widespread reports that Red Bull's Jonathan Wheatley is set to join Aston Martin as team principal, a move that would logically allow Newey to concentrate solely on the car.

What's next:

The expected arrival of Jonathan Wheatley appears to be a direct solution to the dilemma highlighted by Montoya.

• If the move is finalized, Newey would be able to retreat from the spotlight of the team principal role and dedicate his full attention to solving the AMR26's technical woes and designing a competitive car for the future.
• This separation of duties could be the key to unlocking Aston Martin's potential, leveraging Wheatley's managerial experience and Newey's unparalleled design genius to steer the team out of its early-season crisis.