Aston Martin’s early impression of Adrian Newey: “He is always drawing on the whiteboard”

Aston Martin has revealed how Adrian Newey is approaching the development of its 2026 Formula 1 car, providing a rare insight into his work ethic.

Newey started his new job as Aston Martin’s technical director in March and is focusing almost exclusively on designing a successor to the AMR25 for F1’s big regulation overhaul next year.

He brings with him an incredible wealth of experience, having designed championship-winning machinery for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull over the decades.

Aston Martin team principal Andy Cowell revealed that Newey is so devoted to his work that he is “always drawing on the whiteboard” in his office at Silverstone.

However, the 66-year-old also displays unconventional working habits, as he “doesn’t go to meetings” or “answer emails”.

“He’s a racing car designer. One of the best,” Cowell was quoted by AS.

“From day one we made sure we prepared his working environment, he came in and went to meetings about the new rules, about the concepts we had worked on.

“We explained the countdown to the first test and the first race. And we pointed out all the deadlines for submitting information for the production of this [2026] car.

“He went straight to work with engineers to do sketches on his drawing board. He’s in that design cycle to design fundamental parts of the car. Ninety per cent of the creation of a car is in the factory and that’s where we want Adrian.

“He has his office, everyone who walks past says that whenever they see him he’s always drawing on the whiteboard.

“Sure, he doesn’t go to meetings, he doesn’t answer emails, he’s just putting together a fast car and we all support that process.”

Team owner Lawrence Stroll has huge ambitions for Aston Martin, and 2026 will be an important season in the squad’s pursuit to become a frontrunner in F1.

Having invested heavily in its infrastructure, including an all-new factory and wind tunnel at Silverstone, Aston will beging receiving works engines from Honda next year.

Asked how confident he is about the team producing a competitive car next year, Cowell replied: “We have to work hard, the targets are complicated. The timescales are complicated.

“We are pushing, growing, implementing new tools and a very big organisation.

“But we are fighting very hard to have a fast car in 2026.”