Adrian Newey is close to completing his third month at Aston Martin, but it is now, after joining his new team, that he is beginning to make an appearance in the F1 paddock and giving his first interviews. He has also caused some of his teammates to contradict him.
Adrian Newey and Aston Martin’s problems
Adrian Newey has been spotted at the Monaco circuit, his first race on the track since joining Aston Martin. He also took advantage of his presence to give his first interviews, in which he revealed some of Aston Martin’s problems.
Perhaps the biggest problem facing the team right now is the new simulator, which has been in operation since November but whose data is still not reliable compared to that collected during races. Newey has stated that “there is no correlation in the simulator, it is a weak tool” and that “it will take two years” for it to become a reliable tool.
Cowell contradicts Adrian Newey
Aston Martin boss Andy Cowell has responded to these statements and disagrees with Newey‘s opinion. He admits that the simulator data is still not good, but he does not believe it will be a problem in the long term and that it will soon be an effective tool.
“We won’t need two years, and that’s why I disagree with Adrian. It will take time, but not years. It will be a few months. We talked at the meeting about what the driver and the simulator are saying, and now we are more cautious when it comes to developing setup changes (which are made from the simulator), but with time you gain more confidence. I don’t think it’s unusual when a new tool is introduced.”
Furthermore, he does not believe that this simulator failure will affect the improvements to the AMR25 and, consequently, the AMR26.
“I don’t think it will specifically affect the improvements. The simulator is a new tool that has been in operation since November or December last year. Adrian has first-hand experience of the work prior to the event and we have seen how the practice sessions have gone. But we have invested in many tools such as simulation and the wind tunnel. And when you introduce new gear ratios, it takes time to get these tools up and running and to establish correlations.”
Adrian Newey’s pessimism
However, Adrian Newey’s words must be taken with a pinch of salt. He is very cautious in his statements, and they are always more pessimistic than optimistic. Throughout his long career in F1, his statements have always had this tone, tending towards the negative. Many see it as a way of not raising expectations, a way of taking the pressure off himself and the team, always thinking of the worst-case scenario so as not to leave anything to chance, better to be pessimistic and have things turn out better than to be optimistic and have things turn out badly.
These statements also come at a time of relative euphoria for the team. The first updates to the AMR25 have worked, and there is great anticipation about how they will perform this weekend. Adrian Newey’s words dampen the euphoria, keep everyone’s feet on the ground, and leave it up to the track to deliver the verdict.
But the truth is that there is optimism at Aston Martin. The new factory, the new technologies implemented, and the new staff should be a guarantee for the team, which, let’s not forget, has a clear goal set, and it is not this season, it is next year, 2026.