Fernando Alonso explains Aston Martin sacrifice he’d like to see before Adrian Newey’s arrival

Follow us on Google Discover

Aston Martin have become odds-on favourites to challenge for Formula 1 titles in the future, after signing legendary car designer Adrian Newey.

Billionaire team owner Lawrence Stroll is reportedly paying Newey £30m-a-year in a salary that will almost certainly make him one of the highest-paid people in British sports.

Adrian Newey’s move to the Silverstone outfit was made official during a press conference at their new state-of-the-art facilities on Tuesday, where he will team up with former Red Bull aerodynamicist Dan Fallows.

With an engine partnership with Honda signed for the 2026 regulation shakeup along with a contract extension with two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso, many believe Aston Martin is in a prime position to challenge for titles.

While it would be ideal for Aston Martin if Newey could hit the ground running immediately, it will take some time before he can have any influence. Alonso laid out a timeline on when he expects things will start to take shape when speaking at the Azerbaijan GP driver’s press conference.

Fernando Alonso explains why he wants Aston Martin to focus on 2026

Newey joins Aston Martin in March next year which is just two months after teams start work on their 2026 cars in January.

The 2026 regulations present a new challenge for teams to reset the competitive order and given their current struggles, Alonso believes it would be better to make a sacrifice next year.

“I don’t think so. I would like to say yes, but honestly, I don’t think so. 2025 I think the focus for most of the teams will be [about] their 2026 project and change of regulations,” said Alonso.

“I don’t think that is really worth spending so much in the 2025 campaign unless we are fighting for the championship, which I hope we have a nice surprise. But I think the 2026 project should be the first car that he [Newey] has an influence on.”

The only ‘problem’ facing Adrian Newey at Aston Martin

Aston Martin enjoyed a run of success in 2023 when they regularly finished on the podium with Alonso and became Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s nearest challengers.

They have since failed to maintain that momentum in 2024, with only 74 points scored in the first 16 races of 2024 which puts them on course to score around 111 points at the end of the season.

READ MORE: Adrian Newey’s success at Aston Martin will depend on key partnership

Despite optimism about the future, Ted Kravitz believes Newey’s impact may be limited because of the power unit being a ‘dominant’ factor in the team’s performance.

Honda started off the current regulation cycle on the back foot and it took them years to rectify their problems, although eventually achieved title success with Red Bull.

Team principal Mike Krack was optimistic about their chances in 2026 and gave a one-word answer when asked if they could win the title.