Leaving a dominant F1 team and their star driver, Max Verstappen, Adrian Newey took a leap of faith joining Aston Martin. His decision to part ways with Red Bull Racing and join Aston Martin was one of the most unexpected news in recent Formula 1. After his switch to Aston, the British engineer was tasked with leading the team’s technical direction for the upcoming 2026 regulation changes. Since Newey and Honda left Red Bull, the latest rumours also mention Verstappen’s possible move to Aston.
As of now, Aston Martin is eighth in the Constructors’ Championship. The 2025 season has been rocky so far, with Lance Stroll gaining points here and there. During the latest Grand Prix, in Monaco, neither of the Aston drivers crossed the checkered flag in the top 10.
The new driver pairing at Aston
In an interview with Sky Sports F1 ahead of the Monaco GP, Adrian Newey shared his opinion on his new drivers, Alonso and Stroll. Fernando is a two-time world champion and has been a driver for Aston since 2023. His teammate, Lance Stroll, has been a part of the Aston team since its rebrand in 2021. The two are set to drive Newey’s latest invention in 2026:
“It’s a great pairing. Lance, I think, gets an unfairly bad reputation. Any driver that makes it to Formula One is clearly a very good driver. You look actually at Lance’s performance against his teammates when he’s up against Checo, Sebastian, now Fernando, then he’s no slouch at all. And Fernando, I mean, crikey, what a legend, always.”
Moreover, Adrian Newey reflected on his recent years working in Formula 1. The British engineer, aerodynamicist, and automotive designer has an incredible track record. Starting in 1988, Newey worked with numerous teams to build the perfect car. He contemplated over the great list of incredible drivers he’s worked with, sharing his enthusiasm over getting to work with Alonso:
“The kind of two regrets of my recent career, if you like, i.e. not going back a long way, have been that I haven’t had the opportunity to work with either Lewis [Hamilton] or Fernando [Alonso]. So I’ve now got the opportunity to put one of those right.”
Max Verstappen coming to Aston
With an incredibly dominant track record under the capable hands of Adrian Newey, the Dutch champion is Red Bull’s prodigy. While there are rumours of Max Verstappen following in Newey’s footsteps and signing with Aston Martin F1, Adrian Newey remained neutral:
“Who knows? I mean, the first thing we’ve got to do is try to build a decent car, which is a huge challenge. It’s not something that happens overnight. You know, there’s lots of talk about next year, but the reality is, I mean, look at Red Bull when I started it. It was only really our third season where we started to get somewhere. Lots to put in place in the meantime.”
Nevertheless, Newey still shares a lot of respect for the world champion. He praised the Dutch driver for his talent on the track. Even if he could not confirm or deny the recent Aston rumours, Adrian Newey went over Verstappen’s mindset:
“And Max is, I mean, Max, obviously a formidable competitor. But he’s also a very simple beast, and I mean that in an entirely complementary way. Max is very pure in as much as he just wants a fast car that he can showcase his talents in. So I suspect Max will always chase who he thinks will produce the fastest car.”
