F1 rival admits being ‘impressed’ by Adrian Newey’s 2026 Aston Martin

Newey in Monaco with Aston Martin — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

F1 rival admits being ‘impressed’ by Adrian Newey’s 2026 Aston Martin

James Vowles is impressed by Aston Martin's AMR26

Originally written by Sam Cook. This version is a translation.

Monday 9 February 2026 19:00

Adrian Newey’s first Aston Martin F1 design has already turned heads in the paddock, with a rival admitting to being impressed ahead of the 2026 season.

The legendary engineer joined Aston Martin in March after ending a hugely successful stint at Red Bull that spanned from 2006 to 2024, taking on the role of managing technical partner as the team enters a new era.

Across an iconic career, Newey’s creations have delivered 25 world championships, cementing his reputation as the most influential and accomplished car designer Formula 1 has ever seen.

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He is now seeking to turn Aston Martin into a championship-challenging outfit, but firstly, the team's goal will be to challenge higher up the F1 grid, having finished seventh in the constructors' championship in 2025 and not having claimed a podium since 2023.

One of their rivals in that condensed F1 midfield in 2025 were Williams, who managed to pick up two grand prix podiums and a sprint podium courtesy of Spaniard Carlos Sainz.

Team principal James Vowles admitted at the launch of the team's FW48 that he has been impressed by Newey's AMR26 design, which was on show for the first time at the private shakedown in Barcelona last month.

Having been talking to media about how all of his rivals have been shaping up, Vowles then went on to say: "You mentioned the Aston. It’s really impressive.

"Adrian is just a creative designer and it’s really impressive what he’s done with wishbones in places that I don’t think they should be, but he’s done them.

"What’s interesting, though, is it’s exactly that that you need as a narrative. I mentioned before it’s hard for anyone to tell you where the ordering is, because also I don’t think the cars you necessarily see today will be the cars you see in Melbourne.

"That’s what makes it interesting in the beginning of season. So they’ve impressed me, but where they all sit? It’s hard to tell."

Can Aston Martin help Alonso return to winning ways?

Fernando Alonso is approaching the 23rd season of his F1 career, with his longevity meaning that he has raced in more grands prix than any other driver in the history of the sport.

However, the two-time world champion has not won a championship title since 2006, and he hasn't even claimed an F1 race victory since the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix.

He and Newey have always seemed to miss each other throughout their illustrious careers, but now at 44 years of age, Alonso is finally able to drive a Newey-designed car.

And Alonso will be hoping that the AMR26 can give him one last opportunity to fight for podiums and race victories, with the Spaniard currently set to be out of contract at the end of this year.

But the noise that has come from both Aston Martin and their new power unit partners Honda throughout the winter break has been fairly level-headed, suggesting that they will not be where they want to be in this regulations reset until 2027 or 2028.

It remains to be seen whether or not Alonso opts to stick around to wait for that beyond the end of this season.

F1 Aston Martin Adrian Newey Williams 2026 regulations James Vowles