F1 News: Newey hasn't worked on 2025 Aston Martin at all

(GMM) Adrian Newey is yet to work his fabled magic on Aston Martin’s new car for 2025. In Bahrain pre-season testing recently, the green cars appeared to lack pace – with leading team figures like Fernando Alonso already looking ahead to the all-new era from 2026.

“I think we’ve taken a step forward,” said Alonso in Melbourne, “but it seems like everyone else has done the same thing.”

Team boss Andy Cowell, however, is slightly more upbeat.

Andy Cowell, Team Principal and Group CEO at Aston Martin F1 Team talks to the media during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Australia at Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit on March 13, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Zak Mauger/LAT Images for Aston Martin)

“We have a car that we believe is better than last year’s in many ways,” he said. “But, as always, there are always areas to work on.

“We’re definitely not where we’d like to be. There are areas in the corners, areas on the straights, where we’re working to improve the car, some of which we can do here while others require more development work to improve both the aerodynamic and mechanical platforms.”

After a period of ‘gardening leave’, Newey started work at Aston Martin’s Silverstone factory just ten days ago.

“He didn’t want ceremonial presentations – he arrived and went straight into a concept meeting,” said Cowell.

When asked what the former Red Bull guru has been doing since March 3, Cowell continued: “He’s learning the 2026 regulations, understanding them, digging deeper into the work we’ve been doing, understanding that, contributing ideas to the drawing board.”

He freely admits that all of Newey’s efforts so far have been related to the totally-different car for next year.

“I’m smiling to myself,” Cowell is quoted as saying by Marca sports newspaper, “and I won’t give you the details because I don’t want our opponents to know.

“But there are a couple of areas where people are already asking ‘Can we really push it in this direction?’ ‘Can we really do that?’ And the engineers are looking at it and saying ‘Yeah, ok, let’s try that’.

“I think that’s the Adrian effect,” Cowell explained. “He spots the areas where things need to be pushed, and everyone buys into it.”

So with Aston Martin expected to struggle from the outset with its existing car, Cowell is coy when asked if Newey might be able to offer his ideas to make it faster.

“So far, he’s been completely focused on the 2026 car, drawing up the designs for it,” he said.