A Look at Aston Martin's Venerated New Team Principal
Adrian Newey is a man who’s worn many hats around the Formula 1 paddock. Brought into the Aston Martin garage in 2025 to aid their championship goals; he’ll be assuming his most prestigious role yet going into 2026. Having initially joined the team as a Technical Director to assist with the design of their 2026 car, he’ll now be stepping up as the Team Principal. Many see this as a sign of greater ambition from the Silverstone-based organization, with Newey’s wealth of experience and track record of victories expected to take the team to new heights.
Newey’s Formula 1 career began in 1988, and despite moving around teams fairly quickly during those years, his name quickly became associated with competitive car design. Despite his championship designs, it wasn’t until 1998 that one of his cars won a championship while he was Technical Director at McLaren. Newey’s design would win another championship in 1999, his second with driver Mika Hakkinen, and he would remain with the team until 2006. Since his departure from the team, McLaren would only claim one Drivers’ Championship until 2025.
In 2006, Newey began his longest stint in motorsports, signing with Red Bull after poor contract negotiations with McLaren. Despite a rough start with the team, his design would win another championship in 2010 with driver Sebastian Vettel and would mark the beginning of a reign of dominance for the ingenious designer. The team would go on to claim three more Championships with Newey’s car until 2014, when Mercedes would dominate the standings with champion drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Red Bull would reclaim their title in 2021 through 2024, still using Newey’s designs, but this time with Max Verstappen in the driver’s seat.
Though Aston Martin has yet to claim a GP victory since bringing Newey on in 2025, they still managed impressive results through the season. With a handful of double-point finishes and even some top-five finishes, the car showed consistency over the season, even if it did encounter some costly errors along the way. The car shone especially brightly during Qualifying, with their best moment coming at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where they took a third-row lockout in Q3. With Newey taking on more responsibility with the team after a year of growing familiarity, 2026 could be their year as they enter the new regulations with a world-class designer at the helm.
