Adrian Newey ‘totally took control’ of Aston Martin briefing after Bahrain testing disaster

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Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey didn’t panic behind the scenes despite his team looking set to be at the back of the pack at the first race of the season in Melbourne.

For Formula 1 fans, the Australian Grand Prix can’t come around soon enough, but for Aston Martin, they might wish they had another 12 months or more to prepare for Albert Park.

Adrian Newey’s team completed the fewest laps in pre-season testing, with reliability proving to be a major issue.

A frank verdict from Stroll as Aston Martin look for answers 👀

Finish the sentence 'In Australia, Aston Martin will finish XX and XX'…

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Honda have the weakest and least reliable power unit, with Lance Stroll failing to set a time on the final day due to a lack of working parts.

It’s believed Honda’s batteries have been failing ‘en masse’, and Fernando Alonso could be looking at another season of disappointment while working with the Japanese engine manufacturer.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Aston Martin F1 team principal Adrian Newey

Pedro de la Rosa shares how Adrian Newey privately reacted to Aston Martin’s awful test

Journalist Tom Clarkson was speaking to Jolyon Palmer on the F1 Nation Podcast after keeping a close eye on two weeks of testing in Bahrain.

Clarkson recalled: “I was chatting to Pedro de la Rosa myself, and he was saying it’s at moments like this that you really rely on the experience of Adrian Newey, because let’s not forget he knows an awful lot about power units as well as chassis.

“And so while the headlines look really bad, he came straight into an engineering briefing and said, right, chassis-wise do this, Honda, PU-wise do that.

“He just totally took control, according to Pedro, but these things have lead times, and it’s going to take a long time to sort out.

“Let’s hope, though, Alonso’s 45, let’s hope that the second half of the year we can at least see the car making progress and getting some cheeky points.”

Palmer responded: “I think they knew that this was not going to be the easiest year of transition, but they want to be fighting for championships.

“They’ve built the super team of Adrian Newey, of Fernando Alonso, getting Honda, who, in the last iteration of rules, had the strongest power unit with Red Bull.

“So, they’ve sort of put together a power team. They’ve done loads of work at the factory, and so far nothing’s working, but they have the ingredients there to, if everything’s firing at some point in the future, to be very good again.”

READ MORE: All to know about Aston Martin F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Honda hopeful of Aston Martin power unit fix before the Chinese Grand Prix

There’s only so much that Newey can control in his role as team principal, with Aston Martin’s interesting car design barely tested due to Honda’s limitations.

Former team principal Andy Cowell has been stationed in Japan to help Honda sort out its issues, and he has plenty of experience in that department, having been one of the masterminds behind the Mercedes engine that helped Lewis Hamilton win six championships.

However, Honda are hopeful of improving their power unit by the Chinese Grand Prix, but F1’s homologation deadline is March 1, meaning they need to know exactly what’s wrong in the next few days.

It will also mean that the Australian Grand Prix could be an absolute disaster for Alonso and Stroll.

Newey’s measured reaction to the situation unfolding within the team is a positive sign, and there are very few people in the paddock who have been around as long as he has and witnessed as many ups and downs.

How long it will take him to sort out the mess that Aston Martin find themselves in is another matter entirely.