F1 insiders believe ‘fussy’ Adrian Newey is behind Aston Martin’s slow upgrade process

Aston Martin raised eyebrows in the F1 paddock by choosing not to bring any performance-based upgrades to the recent Miami Grand Prix, and insiders are now revealing why Adrian Newey made that decision.

While other teams used F1’s five-week break to work on their 2026 cars, Aston Martin stayed quiet, opting to address reliability rather than chasing outright speed.

The team decided to leave one of their AMR26s in Japan after Suzuka so engineers could stay close to the Honda factory and deal with issues that have been cropping up in the 2026-spec power unit.

Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll finished down in P15 and P17 in Miami. It wasn’t where they wanted to be, but it was at least the first race this season where both cars finished a full race distance.

There’s still a long road ahead before Aston Martin can expect regular points finishes again. Early projections don’t offer much hope until at least after the summer break.

Adrian Newey wants Aston Martin’s upgrades to make a real impact

Speaking on the RacingNews365 podcast, F1 journalist Ian Parkes shared insights from his conversations within the paddock about Aston Martin’s current struggles.

Parkes noted how remarkable it is that Cadillac has matched Aston Martin early in the season, despite having far less experience in the sport.

“It’s the Cadillac/Aston thing that absolutely fascinates me. I mean, who would have thought? A team brand new to Formula 1, with just four Grands Prix under its belt so far,” he said. “And here it is, battling a team in Aston with all its resources, history, and everything else that’s been thrown at the team.”

The delays aren’t just limited to one area either. Parkes pointed out that issues extend beyond Honda’s power unit to the overall development of the car.

He added: “Speaking to people in the paddock over the weekend, the belief is that they’re delaying any kind of major upgrade because Adrian, in particular, is being so fussy and so perfectionist. He wants to get this absolutely, fundamentally right.

“They don’t just want to throw components at the car, hoping that it’s going to give them a tenth here or tenth there.

“They want to bring something that’s fundamentally going to change the performance and efficiency of that car to ensure that any gains made are substantial and not just incremental.”