Ferrari saw Adrian Newey’s Aston Martin problems coming when they decided not to sign him last year

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Adrian Newey has just become Aston Martin’s team principal in a remarkable reshuffle from Lawrence Stroll. It was only in March that Newey joined as the managing technical partner.

Clearly, Newey could not form an effective working relationship with previous team principal Andy Cowell. Cowell has now been reassigned and may oversee the team’s collaboration with new engine suppliers Honda.

Newey has never been a team principal before, but he knows what a winning environment looks like. He has won titles across several different eras with Williams, McLaren and Red Bull.

However, the disruption at Aston Martin has to be a concern heading so close to the start of the 2026 season. Stroll sees this as the team’s chance to join the elite, but internal conflicts could derail their progress.

Ferrari were right all along about Adrian Newey

Before Newey joined Aston Martin last year, he was heavily linked with Ferrari. Newey has come close to joining Ferrari numerous times, but once again, negotiations failed.

It was reported at the time that Newey was seeking ‘command’ of Ferrari’s sporting management, but the team didn’t want to give him that level of power. The 66-year-old later acquired shares in Aston Martin.

There were also concerns at Maranello that Newey could ‘override’ Ferrari’s existing structure. This is exactly what’s happened at Aston.

Newey wasn’t able to play a significant role in 2025 car development, instead focusing on 2026. Perhaps Ferrari will regret their failure to sign him next year, but it’s also possible that recruiting him would have done more harm than good internally.

Where did Fred Vasseur stand on Adrian Newey?

Fred Vasseur wasn’t keen on Newey joining Ferrari, so perhaps he too foresaw a power struggle. He might have been demoted in the same fashion as Cowell.

Ferrari’s technical department is instead being led by Loic Serra, who joined from Mercedes. Serra only started his role last October, so he may have arrived too late to correct the mistakes made with the 2025 car.

Some at Ferrari blame Enrico Cardile for the fundamental flaws of the SF-25. Cardile left for Aston Martin before he could see the project through and will now report to Newey.