Fernando Alonso amazed by Adrian Newey: “You need to use all your brain capacity”

Fernando Alonso has hailed the impact of Adrian Newey at Aston Martin, admitting that “you need to use all your brain capacity” to understand him at times.

Newey made the move from Red Bull to Aston Martin last year, spearheading the Silverstone-based outfit’s design team.

As managing technical partner, Newey oversees Aston Martin’s design organisation, with a firm eye on 2026.

F1 in 2026 will see significant changes to the technical regulations, on both the chassis and engine side.

The cars will be slightly smaller, have active aerodynamics and run on sustainable fuels.

As a result, F1’s pecking order will likely change significantly depending on which power unit supplier has got it right.

Aston Martin are the only team on the grid that will be powered by Honda.

With Newey and Honda onboard, Aston Martin are optimistic about their chances.

Aston Martin, under Lawrence Stroll’s ownership, has invested heavily.

Their Silverstone campus is incredible now, with their wind tunnel now fully functional.

Along with Newey, Aston Martin have also poached Enrico Cardile from Ferrari.

‘Everyone learning a lot from Newey’

Since becoming Aston Martin in 2021, the team has spent most of their time in F1 in the midfield.

It was only for the first half of 2023, where Aston Martin had the second-fastest car, that they could compete for victories.

With Aston Martin preparing and pinning their hopes on next year, the pressure is on them to give Alonso a race-winning car again before he calls time on his career.

In a feature on the Aston Martin F1 website, Alonso spoke about his early dealings with Newey.

“Yeah, he’s an incredible person, the best designer in the history of our sport, and everyone in the team is learning a lot from him,” Alonso said.

“Everything Adrian does, you try to understand why he is doing that, why he chose that direction, or why he’s answering in that way, because there is always something to learn from him. Even from a simple answer that he can give to you in response to a question, that simple answer can be so clear to him, but why is it not for others?

“There are moments when, to be able to understand him, you need to use all your brain capacity. Even if Adrian only uses five per cent, for us, for normal people, we need to use much more.”