Will Aston Martin “Stroll” their way back to the top of the grid?
Zafir Nagji, Sports Editor |
Formula One fans were treated to a silly season of the ages, with Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton and Esteban Ocon all moving to new teams. However, drivers are not the only ones influencing the future of the sport. Choosing the right engineers and key staff members can mean the difference between entering the season with a rocket ship, like McLaren did this year, or a tractor, like Kick Sauber have had to field this season. And the biggest fish in that ocean of capable engineers and designers, Adrian Newey, has now found his new home after deciding to leave the once-dominant Red Bull Racing team.
First hinted at by Jeremy Clarkson at the British Grand Prix, the master aerodynamicist has chosen to move to Aston Martin as Technical Managing Partner, despite being rumoured to join the Scuderia Ferrari team by most mainstream media sources.
“Do you want an exclusive? I know Adrian Newey is house-hunting in Oxfordshire, not Maranello,” Clarkson told Dutch broadcaster Viaplay.
So, just who is Newey and why did Aston Martin make such a concerted effort to add him to their team?
Who is Adrian Newey?
Born in 1958, Newey is arguably the greatest and most impactful engineer and designer the sport has ever seen. After graduating with a first class honours degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Southampton in 1980, Newey took on any roles he could find in motorsport. Working as the Chief Aerodynamicist at Fittipaldi Automotive and Race Engineer at March in Formula Two, Newey eventually found his calling in designing race cars.
He achieved success early, designing the two-time IMSA GTP-winning March 82G GTP in 1982. Powered by a Chevrolet V8, Newey gave the racecar an aerodynamic ace up its sleeve: Venturi tunnels under the car fed by a gaping hole between the front fenders. This made it unstoppably fast as its aerodynamic devices glued it to the racetrack, thanks to the low-pressure-zone created under the car by Newey’s innovative engineering.
Newey moved onto IndyCar next, penning the March 85C that won its second race ever at the Indy 500. The car took home the CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams) championship in 1985 and, with a few upgrades, it won again in 1986.
That gave Newey the opportunity to climb into the world of Formula One. Beginning under legendary engineer, Ross Brawn, at the FORCE F1 team, Newey wouldn’t design another car until rejoining the March team in 1988, where his Leyton House-liveried March 881 F1 car proved to be the fastest naturally-aspirated car on the grid. Good enough for sixth in the Constructors Championship that season, Newey then hit a rough spell in following years and was eventually fired from the team.
He wasn’t on the market long, though, as the Williams F1 team snapped him up and immediately made him Chief Designer. Under team owner Frank Williams and technical director Patrick Head, Newey designed his first truly legendary car, the Williams FW14. Winning seven races in 1991 and 10 in 1992, Nigel Mansell and his FW14 were the only real challenger to the legendary Ayrton Senna and his dominant McLaren MP4/6. Newey’s designs would net him his first Constructors Championship victory in the 1992 season, followed by two more consecutive titles.
However, in 1994, Senna, who had moved to the Williams team, tragically died in a high-speed collision at the Imola Grand Prix in the Newey-designed FW16. This resulted in a manslaughter case involving numerous members of the Williams squad, including Newey and Head. The team was acquitted of any charges, but the debacle left a stain on the two Britons’ relationship and eventually led to Newey’s departure from the team.
Newey’s Williams cars registered 59 race victories, 78 pole positions and 60 fastest laps in 114 races from 1991 to 1997. Moving onto McLaren briefly before settling into a long stint at Red Bull Racing, Newey was most famous for turning the Austrian team into a world-beater with his revolutionary rocketships. His racecars earned six Constructors Championships and seven Drivers Championships in the hands of Sebastian Vettel from 2010-13 and Max Verstappen from 2020-23.
Why is he leaving Red Bull Racing?
Newey’s role slowly became smaller as the energy drink empire bolstered its engineering team. Even though he was officially the Chief Technical Officer, the team gravitated towards the direction of Technical Director Pierre Waché. Soon, Newey became a glorified advisor to the team and wasn’t even at every race weekend, more so providing expertise in a consulting role. Newey expressed a desire to be more involved in the day-to-day operations of a team and wanting a new challenge in the sport, and Aston Martin’s team owner Lawrence Stroll made him an offer he simply could not refuse.
A hefty salary, shares in the company, and a thoroughly convincing factory tour, combined with an aggressive plan for the future of the team, helped the Canadian multi-billionaire bring the biggest engineering name to his Oxfordshire-based team. The cars that Newey designed for Verstappen also used Honda powertrains, which Aston Martin will be exclusively using from 2026 onwards, right when Newey’s term with the team is officially set to begin. His comfort designing an aerodynamic package around a familiar drivetrain, combined with the seemingly unlimited developmental budget that Stroll brings to the table will provide Newey with the competitive fire he has been missing.
Newey is still contractually obligated to provide his technical expertise on the RB17 hypercar project, Red Bull’s street-legal exotic car meant to celebrate their dominance in Formula One. He’ll officially start work for Aston Martin when the design phase for the 2026 racecar begins, where he will be tasked with penning an innovative design to tackle the new rule changes being introduced. The new legislations include an allowance for movable front and rear body parts, otherwise known as active aerodynamics. This increased freedom for aero design should help Newey keep up his dominant streak and could potentially launch Aston Martin into the top tier of teams in the sport, but there is one key issue the team must resolve if they have serious intentions of winning titles.
The Canadian elephant in the room
The issue with the Aston Martin Formula One Team is not mechanically related, and they even have a top-tier driver on the team. Spanish wheelman Fernando Alonso flew into fourth place in the 2023 World Drivers Championship with a plethora of spectacular finishes. Still, despite his individual excellence, the team finished fifth in the Constructors Championship. Alonso brought home seven podium finishes and scored 206 points for his team by the end of the season, which accounted for over 70 per cent of Aston Martin’s total points, and therein lies the problem.
In order for a team to have success in the Constructors Championship, they need both drivers to perform at the highest level. For example, Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles LeClerc scored 206 points in the 2023 season and was further bolstered by his teammate’s 200 points, helping Ferrari secure second place in the Constructors Championship. The difference in prize money earned for each finishing position is in the millions of dollars. Because of the high costs that come with entering and remaining competitive in the sport, every team is fighting tooth, nail, tire, and wheel for each available point.
Aston Martin has the perfect lead driver in Alonso. As the oldest pilot on the grid, with 32 wins and 106 podium finishes in 393 races (and counting), Alonso provides the experience and stability the team needs to continue developing winning habits and racecars. He is paired with Lance Stroll, son of the team owner and arguably the least proficient racer on the grid.
Stroll had a controversial stint in F3 and F2, where his father paid for all of his racing entries and even cheated to give him a more competitive car than the rules and regulations allowed. Stroll still managed to create a series of horrifying crashes in each of the series and brought that tendency with him into his F1 career. His father’s treasure trove of money made him a valuable asset to smaller teams. When Stroll Sr. bought the Racing Point F1 team and turned it into Aston Martin, Stroll Jr.’s place in the sport was entrenched by the powers of nepotism.
Stroll caused almost $3M in damages to his car last year and has consistently placed in the top 10 for total damage dollars inflicted. His recklessness, lack of awareness and unrefined racecraft are even more detrimental when taking into consideration the sport’s newly introduced budget cap; the more damage Stroll causes to the car, the more money the team has to spend on repairs and the less they have available to bring upgrade packages to their car.
So, while other teams have become significantly faster between 2023 and 2024, Aston Martin has gone from a top-three car on the grid to a stone-cold average. They currently stand fifth in the 10-way Constructor’s Championship battle and Alonso has not been able to put the car on the podium in any races so far. Their best result was their P6-P7 finish at the Canadian Grand Prix, but that was helped by a double-DNF for Ferrari. At 74 points on the season, they sit 218 points behind the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team and 40 points in front of Red Bull Racing’s junior squad, Visa Cashapp RB. This is despite them being one of the few teams capable of spending the maximum allowable amount under the budget cap.
What will it take for the team to truly achieve success?
Aston Martin signing Newey is a huge step in the right direction on their quest to F1 dominance. When the rules change in 2026, the field will once again be open for any of the 10 teams and 20 drivers to establish their places. With an engineer of Newey’s caliber combined with the deep pockets of Stroll Sr. and the driving talents of Alonso, the team is partially poised for success.
However, if Stroll Sr. truly values getting positive results, he will have to make the extremely difficult decision to let go of his son and replace him with a more competent driver. Valterri Bottas, known for his excellence in the secondary role next to Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, is still available on the open market. Sergio Perez’s spot on Red Bull seems less secure after each of his disappointing race weekends, but he still brings home better overall drives than Stroll Jr. and has raced under Stroll Sr. before at Racing Point BWT. Time will tell if Aston Martin’s team owner is truly dedicated to doing whatever it takes to win, even if it means making the hardest possible choice and firing a family member.
