Newey on the grid in Qatar — Photo: © IMAGO

Aston Martin F1

Too much too soon? Adrian Newey admits Aston Martin 'distraction'

The new team principal has a lot on his plate in Melbourne this week

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Friday 6 March 2026 21:25

Aston Martin F1 team principal Adrian Newey has addressed several 'distractions' as the iconic brand battles a crisis at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

Aston Martin may not complete the first race of the season at Albert Park, after Newey confirmed that vibrations into the AMR26 chassis were causing reliability issues.

On top of unstable mirrors and battery issues, the vibrations also make for challenging conditions to drive in, with concerns emerging their two drivers could suffer nerve damage.

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Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll predicted they'd only be able to complete 15-25 laps, while the latter compared it to 'electrocuting yourself'.

For Newey, solving Aston Martin's woes will be a monumental headache, and not entirely within his control given the issues stemming from the Honda power unit.

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Is team principal responsibility for Newey too great?

Primarily brought in as Aston Martin's technical guru, Newey must now also deal with the logistical challenge of being team principal, which includes managing personnel and being the public face of the F1 team. A huge task.

When asked during Friday's team principal press conference whether he was able to devote his time to the performance of the car in the same way, Newey referenced the 'distractions' from the new role and Honda.

While Newey pointed to key figures such as Enrico Cardile and Paul Field helping to direct the team, he admitted Aston Martin still needs time to mature.

He answered: "As the organisation matures, then it becomes more self-managing. I think when I look at where we are with AMR now, then similar challenges to when I first started at RB of working practice, communication, silos, all the things we know and love and try to break down.

"I think the personnel, the staff that I see at AMR are a very, very talented group, that we just needed to get them working together and between each other and so forth much better than they had been, and that’s well developed now. It’s well on the right path. We’ve of course got work to do.

"So, do I feel as if it’s distracting me from my core job of trying to work with everybody, work on my own to come up with ideas, development directions, et cetera, et cetera? A little bit.

"Certainly, as I’ve mentioned earlier, the big distraction at the moment has been the work we’re putting into trying to work with Honda to assist them. But overall, I feel that once everything’s settled down with that senior management plan in place, or group in place, then no, I’m not worried about it."

Aston Martin Adrian Newey Australian Grand Prix Honda