The new updates from Aston Martin are taking shape as this weekend’s Silverstone Grand Prix approaches. There had been talk of improvements to aerodynamics in recent weeks, without much detail, but now we know what will change and that Adrian Newey, contrary to what we had been told, has had a lot to do with these new changes, which will not be the last of the year, as we had also been led to believe.
The hand of Adrian Newey
The arrival of Adrian Newey in March this year changed everything. At the time, the team had no plans to make any major changes to the AMR25, with the focus on 2026. However, the arrival of the Briton meant a change for the current season. As expected, the most successful engineer in the history of F1 immediately identified some weak points in the current car that would be easy for him to fix, and his involvement would not mean a loss of resources for next season, the goal of the team and Newey himself.
He started with the simplest thing, making sense of the car, restoring stability to a car that was behaving erratically, unpredictable on the track, “dangerous” as Fernando Alonso said over the radio in one race. Those changes came in Italy, where performance improved only slightly, but they brought sanity to a car that was no longer unpredictable, a change sufficient for the Oviedo driver to be able to squeeze the most out of what he had without any fear, and the results speak for themselves.
Newey himself had a new plan in the works, which became clear in his first race accompanying the team in the paddock. He walked around the garages of the big teams, observed their cars, jotted down his conclusions in his notebook, and hinted in statements that there would be updates at Silverstone. What he had observed on his arrival was confirmed by watching his rivals in Monte Carlo, and he got down to work.
Changes for Silverstone
New aerodynamic parts are arriving for the AMR25 at the Silverstone GP, and the car’s floor is being changed. It will be a decisive change for the rest of the season, with which the team hopes to be faster on straights and faster in fast corners, while also reducing tire wear. There is talk that they could gain up to four tenths of a second per lap, which is already a huge amount in F1, but even more so in a year where the differences between all the teams are minimal.
If these predictions are confirmed, Aston Martin’s change could be radical. The team could consolidate its position as the leader in the midfield, but it could also take on teams such as Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes, which have been very inconsistent throughout this campaign. Catching up with McLaren seems like an almost impossible task and is not being considered, but no one dares to rule it out either.
Fernando Alonso is optimistic, as he said in Austria, dreaming of “a podium,” and these statements must be taken into account, because the Asturian does not usually say things just for the sake of saying them, especially not such positive things. The truth is that the team is very hopeful about this new package of improvements, not only because it would be a step forward this season, but also for next season, to believe that it is possible to fight for the World Championship. That is why Adrian Newey has arrived, to give the team the boost it needed, and he wants his influence to be felt now, not next year.