Peter Windsor gives ‘upside’ to Adrian Newey joining Aston Martin

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An announcement is imminent from Aston Martin about the arrival of legendary designer Adrian Newey.

Since confirming that he will leave Red Bull at the end of the season, there has been speculation over where Adrian Newey will end up on the grid.

Ferrari initially made contact with Newey with the potential for him to work alongside Lewis Hamilton for the first time, however, team principal Frederic Vasseur was unwilling to meet his demands and potentially upset Maranello’s current design team.

This left Aston Martin, whose billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll had already held secret talks with Newey while he was shopping around with teams. Williams, McLaren and Alpine were all linked to Newey, but the Silverstone-based squad are the only ones that can meet his demands.

With Newey all but confirmed, it is set to be a massive coup for Aston Martin who have struggled to recapture their regular podiums last season with their form in 2024. It will also bring with it an upside, according to Peter Windsor when speaking on his YouTube channel, for one particular driver on the grid.

Fernando Alonso to benefit most from Adrian Newey

Fernando Alonso signed a contract extension with Aston Martin earlier in the season which is understood to take him up through the 2026 season.

By this point, he will be 44 years old when he begins the 2026 season and will be racing against a driver (Andrea Kimi Antonelli) who was not born when he made his debut in 2001.

Windsor believes Newey’s arrival could persuade Alonso to stick around even longer if it means more chances of winning titles in the latter stages of his career.

“A lot of people might say ‘Well he’s too old!’ but Fernando will do a pretty good job of convincing Lawrence Stroll that he can do a good job,” said Windsor.

“I’m sure Newey would like to know how Fernando goes in one of his cars as well. But the upside of it is that it will keep Fernando in F1 for another couple of years.”

Lawrence Stroll offered Red Bull ‘kingpins’ Aston Martin shares to follow Adrian Newey

Stroll was determined to sign Newey away from Red Bull once the team started to develop fractures at the top while experiencing a downfall on track.

A report recently explained that Red Bull engineers Pierre Wache and Enrico Balbo were approached by Aston Martin, with Stroll ‘personally’ involved in talks with the backroom staff.

READ MORE: Pierre Wache has said something ‘very worrying’ about Red Bull’s development

Both turned down the offer and ended up extending their contracts with Red Bull, as they look to get their title defence back on track with Max Verstappen.

It is a significant blow for Aston Martin, considering they are one of the teams on the grid with a ‘state of the art’ factory.