Adrian Newey 'pursuing various avenues' with 2026 Aston Martin

Aston Martin secured their first points since Miami at last weekend’s Spanish GP, courtesy of Fernando Alonso.

The Spaniard was comfortably fast enough to make Q3 in qualifying, but became slightly less competitive on Sunday.

Despite updates to the AMR25, Aston Martin are still firmly in the midfield scrap – meaning that high-level execution is necessary to secure points.

With even Sauber outscoring the British team in Spain, last weekend was a reminder that Aston Martin’s best chance of climbing the field is in 2026.

This is where Adrian Newey and his technical team are dedicating all of their resources.

So far, Newey is finding more potential in the new regulations than he first foresaw.

Adrian Newey discusses Aston’s progress towards 2026

F1’s latest triple-header revealed a series of important truths at Aston Martin.

One of them is undoubtedly positive – this being their improved wind tunnel correlation and use of development tools.

Their upgrades in Imola have made them far more competitive, unlocking vital tenths that could change the complexion of their season.

Whilst reliability and strategy cost Aston and Fernando Alonso significant points in Imola and Monaco, being in a position to finish in the top 10 on merit is a clear step forward.

At the same time, Sauber’s pace at the Spanish GP is a reminder of how much ground Aston Martin lost over the last eighteen months.

Their recent updates might help with damage limitation, but 2026 is their best chance at redemption.

Adrian Newey and his team are conscious of this, which is why their focus is directed at the new regulations.

Newey has spoken in optimistic terms about the potential of the 2026 cars. He explains that Aston Martin have several concepts they are working on:

“We’re pursuing various avenues. Whether those are different avenues to other, and whether they will be a better avenue than others, we’ve got no idea.

“That’s part of the intrigue of F1, especially when you get these big rules changes.

“It’s always difficult, when you have a big regulation change like this, and all teams are resource-limited.

“Because of the budget cap and simply because of staffing levels. The team shapes the approach, to a certain extent. 

“One area of our team that needs to grow is the aerodynamics department.

“But in the short term, that means we’ve got to decide which directions are going to be the most fruitful, and really concentrate on those.”

Will Aston Martin have more updates this year?

Newey’s analysis provides some critical insights into the trajectory at Aston Martin.

The Silverstone-based operation now enjoy modern facilities and state-of-the-art infrastructure – which puts them in a strong position heading into 2026.

What these new tools must not distract from, however, is the team’s need to integrate and efficiently utilise them.

Adrian Newey, having won dozens of World Championships, is better placed them most to direct Aston Martin in their quest to become front-runners.

This is a demanding and delicate process, which is why Aston’s focus on this year’s car will be relatively minimal.

Another update package is still scheduled for the AMR25, set to arrive in the European leg of the calendar.

However, much like Sauber’s next updates, these parts would have been conceptualised several months ago.

Aston’s emphasis in terms of its wind tunnel allocation, concept work and engineering focus has been on the 2026 car for months.

This gives the British team the best chances of establishing themselves as front-runners next season.