David Coulthard wagers Adrian Newey won’t do one thing at Aston Martin that he achieved at Red Bull

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If Adrian Newey exclusively listens to Fernando Alonso, he might wonder if he’s already got his work cut out before he joins Aston Martin.

Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll can look forward to driving an Adrian Newey-designed Aston Martin for the first time in 2026, with the 65-year-old set to join the team in March next year.

However, Alonso is already worried about Aston Martin’s prospects next year after a second successive season of failing to efficiently implement their update packages.

Alonso has been a fed-up figure in the paddock more often than not this season, having gone from regularly challenging for podiums at the beginning of 2023, to struggling to finish in the points this year.

However, Newey’s arrival – alongside other key personnel such as Enrico Cardile and Andy Cowell – offers Aston Martin hope for the future.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Aston Martin F1 Team from team principal to lineage

His success at Red Bull is unparalleled and although their recent drop-off isn’t necessarily related to Newey no longer being involved in their F1 project, the coincidence hasn’t gone unnoticed.

David Coulthard was speaking to SABC News in South Africa and asked about Newey’s upcoming move.

Coulthard has a huge amount of respect for the designer having worked closely with him at McLaren and Red Bull.

He now believes that while Newey wants to undertake a new challenge, he doesn’t think it’ll be for a similar time period to his stint with the Anglo-Austrian team.

That’s hardly a surprise as Newey is unlikely to want to work into his 80s, despite the fact he’s shown no signs of wanting to retire.

David Coulthard makes his prediction for Adrian Newey’s time at Aston Martin

Asked about the great Ayrton Senna and Newey, Coulthard said: “In terms of Adrian, I’ve worked with him my entire career and he has played a huge part in the development of Red Bull Racing.

“I think the fact that he stayed with the team longer than he stayed with any other team is a testament to the family, the environment, the leadership under Mr [Dietrich] Mateschitz was one about creating opportunity and empowering you to get on and do the job.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links

“So, in many ways I guess it’s inevitable in the same way that a sports person’s career doesn’t last forever, then in the case of Adrian, he’s seeking a new challenge.

“I’ll wager that he won’t spend 17 years with Aston Martin at his age.

“I was actually rather hoping he would get on his sailboat and go and enjoy all the spoils of his success but clearly he’s still motivated to keep designing and Red Bull will have a good team of people that are in place, of course, that were part of his design squad to see if they can continue to compete at the highest level.”

Jacques Villeneuve has told Fernando Alonso how to win his third F1 world championship

If Newey is going to help his fourth different team – after Williams, McLaren and Red Bull – win an F1 title, then he needs to get the most out of Alonso.

Although Lawrence Stroll would love for his son to be the lead driver in the team, that simply isn’t going to happen when Alonso is his teammate.

The Spaniard is going to be 43 at the start of next season, but was in a good vein of form before the autumn break, while Stroll hasn’t scored a point in the past five races.

Jacques Villeneuve has told Alonso he needs to do to win another championship, and that partly comes down to his relationship with Newey.

His impact on the team won’t be immediate and with so many other top engineers and technicians in the garage, they need to quickly figure out how best to work with each other to maximise the performance of the car.

That won’t be easy, but Lawrence Stroll has given his team all the tools needed to succeed.

It’s simply going to be a case of being patient, but Alonso doesn’t necessarily have time on his side in that respect, which might explain why Aston Martin are keeping one eye on Max Verstappen’s Red Bull situation.