F1's Project Newey is a bust, and Aston Martin rivals cannot believe it

Adrian Newey, Aston Martin, Bahrain, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

Aston Martin F1

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F1's Project Newey is a bust, and Aston Martin rivals cannot believe it

Adrian Newey joined Aston Martin last March

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Sunday 5 April 2026 09:55 Updated: 10:20

Adrian Newey's Aston Martin F1 project has got off to a disastrous start, and even his rivals are shocked.

Newey-designed cars have won 26 championships across his illustrious career, and the British legend joined the Silverstone outfit last March, hoping to try and turn them into a championship-contending team.

But the first car that has properly had his imprint stamped on it is an unreliable machine that is causing immense vibrations for its drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.

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Many of the problems are being attributed to their power unit manufacturers Honda, and Stroll is yet to have been able to finish a race, while two-time world champion Alonso reached the chequered flag at the Japanese Grand Prix for the first time this season.

But Newey and Honda had previously experienced a sustained period of success at Red Bull, and Aston Martin had been hoping that the partnership would reap rewards for them too.

Even when they have been able to complete a full session, the team have been one of the slowest on the grid, with new outfit Cadillac managing to outqualify both Aston Martins last time out in Japan.

And now, Cadillac driver Sergio Perez - who previously worked with Newey between 2021-2024 - has admitted his surprise to find himself in a battle at the back of the grid against the Newey-designed cars.

"To be honest, I wasn’t expecting it," Perez told DAZN. "I’d hoped that Fernando would be fighting for the top spots, I had a lot of faith in the project with Newey.

"I worked with Adrian at Red Bull and with Honda as well. But hey, that’s the nature of the sport, and right now we’re battling it out with Fernando.

"Race by race, at least we won’t get bored and we’ll have a good time. I always tell Fernando, I always joke with him, that they shouldn’t improve too quickly so we can have fun together and start making progress together."

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Cadillac's unplanned battles

Before the season had even started, Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon had stated that Cadillac would find themselves running last in the pecking order in 2026, being the new outfit on the grid.

He explained that they had pieced together a team in the space of a year, hiring over 500 people to key roles, and that it would take a few years until we began to see the real potential of the team.

But they have been in a battle with two established teams in Aston Martin and Williams in the early weeks of the season, albeit at the back of the grid.

While they are unlikely to be scoring points anytime soon, Perez and Valtteri Bottas seem to be enjoying having other cars around them to fight with on track.

F1 Aston Martin Sergio Perez Adrian Newey Cadillac