Adrian Newey is not resting. He knows that time is ticking and the AMR26 must be ready for the start of the 2026 F1 World Championship. His working day is marathon-like, and he hardly takes any breaks, not even on weekends. He is in a trance with the new design, aiming to take the team to the top of the F1 World Championship.
Changes in F1 for 2026
The new regulations for 2026 in F1 pose a major challenge for all teams. Rarely has there been such a sudden change in the top flight, with engine changes, aerodynamic changes, and the challenge of further electrifying the cars in the premier class of motor racing without losing performance.
Adrian Newey has been the star signing of 2025, entrusted with the new project. His experience and track record speak for themselves. He is considered the design guru and has been world champion wherever he has gone.
Total dedication to Aston Martin
Since his arrival at Aston Martin, Adrian Newey has barely taken a few days off. He spends his days at the factory, working endless hours, designing the car, in a trance, leaving no stone unturned to optimize it efficiently. The engineer himself acknowledges the great effort he is making to get the most out of the regulations and build the best car.
“To a large extent… Well, my working week has normally been… I had a weekend off two weeks ago, but apart from that, it’s been more or less full-time since I started in March
In this regard, he comments that his wife is the one who is seeing this moment most directly, or indirectly, because she hardly ever sees him, although this is now commonplace whenever the engineer has had to design a new model.
“My wife says I go into a design trance, so I can understand what she means, that when I go into that kind of period of intense concentration, and I tend not to see left and right, all my processing power goes to one area, which is trying to design a fast race car.”
Adrian’s wife has also commented on what this period means even for their dog Benji, who seems to miss his owner’s absence at the moment.
“While her husband is in a design trance, Benji is in an affection trance.”
Fernando Alonso, reasons for optimism
Fernando Alonso has reasons to be hopeful for next season. Adrian Newey has proven his ability to lead championship-winning projects, and everything indicates that he will be able to do so again starting in 2026. The first updates to the AMR26 are being tested by the Oviedo-born driver himself in the AMR25, and the improvement has been evident since the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, going from struggling to make it into Q2 to qualifying in the top 10 in three consecutive races.
He has also scored his first points of the year, much later than expected, but it seems that the work at the factory is beginning to pay off. Adrian Newey is in a trance, focused on everything he can do to get Aston Martin to the top of motorsport by 2026.
It won’t be easy. The new regulations pose major challenges, and everything must fall into place at the new factory, wind tunnel, simulator, and among the staff themselves. When all these pieces are working together, the team will be able to compete with the best and contend for the F1 world title.