Adrian Newey set for another Aston Martin headache after FIA decision

Adrian Newey in front of a sketch of an F1 car — Photo: © IMAGO

Aston Martin

Adrian Newey set for another Aston Martin headache after FIA decision

What the FIA rule changes for 2027 could mean for Aston Martin

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Wednesday 13 May 2026 09:44

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The latest changes to the F1 rules proposed by the FIA could intensify the headache already plaguing Aston Martin and their chief designer Adrian Newey.

Following the Miami Grand Prix, proposals for further evolutionary changes to the 2026 regulations were agreed in principle between the FIA, team bosses, power unit manufacturer representatives and Formula One Management, in response to driver complaints over the new cars at the start of the ruleset.

In a statement, the FIA reported that: "Turning to the longer-term refinement of the regulations, it was agreed in principle to introduce evolutionary changes to the rules regarding hardware components, making competition safer, fairer and more intuitive for drivers and teams.

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"The measures agreed in principle today for 2027 would see a nominal increase in Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) power by ~50kW alongside a fuel-flow increase and a nominal reduction of the Energy Recovery System (ERS) deployment power by ~50kW."

While this proposal has the best intentions for the sport in consideration, it has, however, presented some teams with a design headache - particularly Newey's Aston Martin squad.

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Speaking on the Up to Speed podcast, Will Buxton explained: "The FIA and again it's in collaboration with the teams and the major stakeholders and F1 themselves.

"They've come to this agreement together and it now just has to go through an official vote until it's ratified and put onto the regulation books for 2027. I can't see any world in which it changes too much from that because it would have already gone through so many points of discussion. But you're right [to Naomi Schiff], the changes to the cars are substantial.

"I'm thinking of teams particularly like an Aston Martin when they came out with their car this year and everybody pointed at the side pods and pointed at the very tight design of the car at the rear and said: ‘Wow, Adrian's gone really extreme with the design of the Aston Martin this year.’

"How much of that or those extremities will he have to lose in designing a new car? Because number one, you’ve got to put a larger fuel tank in the back. So that increases the size of the fuel tank. So decreases the ability to fit everything around it without also increasing the size at the rear.

"You're also going to have to increase cooling. So that means side pod designs are going to take a massive hit in terms of their freedom to work around that because you're going to need larger side pods, large cooling and all of that Naomi, as you say, with designs which will have been put in place, natural evolutions, natural updates and upgrades, they're now not natural anymore. It's revolution rather than evolution because you're having to rethink a set of regulations that you thought were static."

F1 FIA Aston Martin Adrian Newey