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Adrian Newey has helped Aston Martin ‘optimise’ one upgrade for Fernando Alonso’s car before the British Grand Prix

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Adrian Newey made F1’s 2026 regulations his priority upon joining Aston Martin, but he has now helped to give Fernando Alonso upgrades for the 2025 British Grand Prix.

The travelling circus of Formula 1 returns to where it all started this weekend at Silverstone, where Alonso won with Renault in 2006 and Ferrari in 2011. Alonso also returns to the track in Northamptonshire looking to get points in the British GP for a sixth straight visit this term.

Alonso has not failed to score points in the British GP since retiring from the 2017 meet with McLaren. He also finished fifth for Alpine in 2022, before taking P7 and P8 with Aston Martin in the past two runnings. Lance Stroll also got points with his P7 finish in the 2024 British GP.

Scoring points in this weekend’s British GP would even see Alonso finish in the top 10 in four successive Grands Prix for the first time in 30 rounds. Aston Martin suspected Alonso’s one-stop strategy in the Austrian GP was impossible last Sunday, but proved key for his P7 finish.

Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso on track during the 2025 F1 Austrian Grand Prix
Photo by Andrea Diodato/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Adrian Newey has helped Aston Martin optimise a floor update on Fernando Alonso’s car

Aston Martin will hope to boost Alonso’s chances of scoring points in the British GP, with the Silverstone natives producing upgrades for their AMR25. That is according to MARCA, which reports that updates are due at Silverstone and then at the Belgian Grand Prix on July 25-27.

Aston Martin intend to debut a suspension upgrade at the British GP that the team designed with the 2026 F1 regulations in mind. As the suspension elements, especially at the rear, will not be massively different next year, Aston Martin want to fine-tune their package this term.

READ MORE: Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso’s life outside F1 from net worth to Cars 2

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    British Grand Prix

    • 1st Practice

    • 2nd Practice

    • 3rd Practice

    • 1st Qualifying

    • 2nd Qualifying

    • 3rd Qualifying

    • Race

But the engineers in Silverstone are also working on further refinements to the floor update that Aston Martin first ran at Imola, which Newey has helped them ‘optimise’. The upgraded floor and new bodywork were a part of Aston Martin’s first major update package this term.

Despite the Briton’s priority being designing their car for the 2026 F1 regulations, Newey has held meetings with Aston Martin’s engineers to improve this season’s car. He especially sees the floor as an area the Silverstone outfit can improve, so is helping to optimise the package.

Fernando Alonso wants Aston Martin to focus on the 2026 F1 regulations over updates for his 2025 car

Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso leaves the garage before the 2025 F1 Austrian Grand Prix
Photo by Guenther Iby/SEPA.Media /Getty Images

MARCA adds that Alonso wants Aston Martin to focus on their car for F1’s 2026 rules, so he is willing to pass up on updates for their 2025 car. Yet Aston Martin see the floor as one area to refine, now with Newey’s support, along with suspension elements that can stay in 2026.

Newey officially took charge as Aston Martin’s managing technical partner this March after joining from Red Bull. His priority has since been to work on F1’s 2026 regulations, with the series set for its biggest overhaul of the technical regulations ever with active aerodynamics.

READ MORE: All to know about Aston Martin managing technical partner Adrian Newey

But he has also now helped to optimise the floor on their AMR25, with which Alonso scored his first points of the 2025 F1 season with P9 in Spain, P7 in Canada and P7 in Austria. Stroll has not taken points since his P5 in the Miami Sprint or in a Grand Prix since his P9 in China.

Aston Martin had questioned the real impact of the update they introduced at Imola as they continued to struggle with Alonso and Stroll overheating their tyres in Canada. So, the outfit will now hope that Newey’s influence on optimising the floor helps to remove that problem.