Adrian Newey begins his tenure at Aston Martin on Monday, March 3rd. He aims to raise the team’s ‘quality standards’ and improve efficiency.
In September 2024, Aston Martin announced that Adrian Newey would be trading the navy blue of Red Bull Racing for the racing green of Aston Martin in a historic deal for the Silverstone-based team.
Andy Cowell, the team’s Team Principal and CEO, admitted that the objective for Adrian as he steps into his new role of managing technical partner is to help streamline efficiency and help raise the team’s quality standards ahead of the 2026 F1 season.
Newey’s focus is going to be in the new regulations that come in for 2026, but also securing Aston Martin’s ability to fight at the front for years to come.
Aston Martin’s expectations
As the most successful designer in F1 history, it is no surprise that Aston Martin sees Newey’s arrival at the team as a step forward and a good sign for their future.
But Newey isn’t the only addition to the team, with a new engine deal with Honda and the addition of 248 people according to Cowell. The team are taking plenty of steps to assure a future beyond Newey’s tenure.
Cowell said, “Last year, 248 new people joined Aston Martin Formula One Team, and it’s those people and all the existing people that together, working as a team, will create this great race car – and individuals like Adrian have got a great insight into the total car, but it’s all of us working together that will deliver a great car.”
Cowell’s objective over the next few years is to make the Aston Martin team ‘flatter’, reducing the time and energy spent on decisions and planning, streamlining the entire process and helping progress move quicker.
“Flatter organisations are naturally more efficient, there are less reporting lines, communication is quicker. There tend to be less reports written, less meetings, and so progress is made quicker. I guess some of that was with a view to Adrian coming, but most of it was just to improve the efficiency of our business.”
“Everybody on site is excited at the thought of working with him, so when he arrives, there is a new office that’s large enough for a drawing board to go in. So that’s in place.”
The excitement
Beyond the technical aspect of the decision behind signing an F1 great, it also comes with a huge moral boost for the Silverstone team.
“We’re just excited to have Adrian on board, to work on the creativity of our race cars, to work on our methods, the tools that we use and how are we all going to lift our quality standards to the point that we make the fastest race car every year. That’s our objective.”
Feature Image Credit: Aston Martin F1 Media Portal
