Did Aston Martin pay Adrian Newey £150m to build an Alpine? F1 insider reveals new details

Aston Martin F1

Did Aston Martin pay Adrian Newey £150m to build an Alpine? F1 insider reveals new details

Aston Martin have had a disastrous start to 2026

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 8 April 2026 09:55

Aston Martin's F1 2026 issues could well be down to more than just their Honda power units.

The Silverstone-based outfit have had a dismal start to the year, with two-time world champion Fernando Alonso only having been able to finish one grand prix so far, while Lance Stroll has not been able to finish any of the three grands prix of 2026.

Aston Martin are struggling with unreliability and power output issues from their Honda power units, and even when they have been able to complete a session, they have been right down the bottom of the timing screens.

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In Japan last time out, both of their cars were even outqualified by the brand new Cadillac team, who have entered the sport this year and have had to piece together a team and a car concept in very little time.

All of these performance issues are despite the fact that Aston Martin have recently got legendary car designer Adrian Newey on board, a man whose designs have claimed 26 world championships across his illustrious career.

Aston Martin chassis likened to Alpine and Haas

Now, an F1 insider has suggested that, although most of Aston Martin's problems are down to their power unit, the chassis design that Newey has come up with for 2026 is full of problems too.

BBC Sport pundit Andrew Benson has claimed that, even if the AMR26 had a Mercedes engine in it, it would likely be challenging the likes of Alpine and Haas for the lower points positions.

Benson has claimed that he has been given that information by a 'very senior and knowledgeable figure', and has revealed that the AMR26 design is overweight and struggles in high-speed corners.

Aston Martin's £150m Newey gamble

Given the fact that Aston Martin are reportedly paying Newey around £30million per year on a five-year contract, team owner Lawrence Stroll will not be happy hearing the Brit's car design compared to an Alpine, with no disrespect meant to the Enstone-based outfit.

Alpine have been a midfield team since they took over the Renault name in the sport back in 2021, and Aston Martin are a team who are hoping to be a championship-winning outfit within the next few years.

There was even hope that they could challenge for the championship this year, with the arrival of Newey, Honda and wholesale regulation changes in the sport.

But it seems that Aston Martin are destined for, at best, a challenge with the midfield teams in the sport for points at race weekends later in the season, once they have got to the bottom of their multitude of issues.

F1 Aston Martin Adrian Newey Alpine