🧠 Newey Goes All-In on 2026 Car as Aston Martin Sacrifices 2025
Aston Martin may be enduring a “painful” 2025 F1 season, but that’s by design. Team principal Andy Cowell revealed that the team shifted its entire focus to the 2026 regulations months ago — and leading that charge is none other than Adrian Newey, now deep in what Cowell calls a “design trance.”
Newey, who joined Aston Martin earlier this year, is reportedly so focused on the 2026 challenger that team members feel guilty even interrupting him. His office, complete with a traditional drawing board, has become ground zero for Aston Martin’s future.
“You go in to catch up with him, and you see that he's focused intently on a bit of detailed design. You're almost apologising for distracting him!” — Andy Cowell
✍️ Drawing Boards and CFD Screens: The Newey Method
Unlike many modern designers, Newey still prefers sketching components by hand, balancing first-principles engineering with aerodynamic creativity. According to Cowell, Newey's mastery of car architecture is unmatched in the sport:
“His ability to look at the overall architecture of a car, balancing all the competing systems, is the best in the industry.”
Newey’s involvement spans across:
- Detailed aero development
- Suspension and mechanical design
- Regulation deep-dives and core architecture planning
👥 What About Enrico Cardile?
Newey isn't the only heavyweight in the Aston Martin garage. Former Ferrari technical director Enrico Cardile is also on board — but his role is more organizational. While Newey focuses on the car, Cardile manages structure, growth, and innovation workflows.
“They’ve got offices next door to each other. The majority of the time they’re having lunch together.” — Cowell
This division seems to be working harmoniously, with Cardile building the framework for Newey’s vision to thrive.
🏁 Can Aston Martin Become a 2026 Powerhouse?
Aston Martin’s long-term gamble on Newey and Cardile suggests it’s all-in for the next generation of F1. While 2025 may be a write-off, the team is betting everything on a radical transformation under the 2026 technical rules.
And with Newey in a trance-like state of innovation, that bet might just pay off.
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