How has every Adrian Newey car done in the first year of new F1 regulations?

Adrian Newey’s first Aston Martin F1 car, the AMR26, has gained a lot of attention since breaking cover at the Barcelona shakedown test last month.

It boasts some novel design choices, most notably its rear suspension, and highlights Newey’s ability to think outside the box when approaching a new engineering challenge.

How has Adrian Newey handled previous F1 regulation changes?

A career of designing cars that have won 26 Championships deserves an increased level of intrigue but in 2026, Aston Martin have paid Newey a lot of money to repeat his magic trick.

Doing so though is no guarantee, regardless of his CV, so as we tick down the days until the first race in Melbourne, here is how Newey has navigated every major regulation change in his career so far:

1989 – Turbo engines banned

Newey’s first major regulation change came during his brief stint at March/Leyton House when rule alterations in 1989 banned turbocharged engines.

That year, Newey designed the March CG891 which achieved a best result of seventh on three occasions. While the small March team meant podiums and wins were never likely, the CG891 secured the fastest lap at the 1989 French Grand Prix, hinting at the ability of its designer.

1994 – Driver aids banned

By the time of the next major rule change, Newey was in the employ of Williams and the increased stature and budget gave the Briton a chance to build title-winning cars.

He was a key part of the design team in 1992 when the FW14B powered Nigel Mansell to the Championship, dethroning a dominant McLaren. A year later, Alain Prost won the title for Williams, and Damon Hill in third in the standings.

A ban on electronic driver aids for 1994 threatened to disrupt the Grove team. The FW15C was an evolution of the cars that had come before it, but without active suspension and other elements, which made it something of a handful. In-race fuelling posed another challenge but the arrival of Ayrton Senna suggested Williams would again be amongst the title contenders.

Benetton was the big beneficiary of the rule changes with a young Michael Schumacher leading the way as Senna failed to finish the first three races.

The Brazilian’s tragic death at the San Marino Grand Prix rocked Williams, even with accusations of manslaughter levelled at Newey. Schumacher went on to win the Drivers’ title in a Benetton that rivals accused of cheating.

Hill ended the year runner-up to Schumacher with Williams winning the Constructors’.

1998 – Narrower cars

As has been done for F1 2026, cars became narrower in 1998 as they shrunk from 2m to 1.8m in width.

It was this rule change that was arguably Newey’s magnum opus as his presence could be measured both in Williams’ slip down the table and McLaren’s rise up it.

After friction had begun to take hold in his relationship with Williams, Newey was poached by McLaren a year before the 1998 changes, a parallel to him joining Aston Martin a year out from 2026.

His first creation was the MP4-13 and back-to-back one-twos in the opening two races demonstrated just how well Newey and his design team had interpreted the rules.

McLaren went on to win the Drivers’ title with Mika Hakkinen, 14 points ahead of Michael Schumacher, while McLaren finished a sizeable 23 points ahead of Ferrari at a time when 10 points was the maximum a driver could achieve in a weekend.

As for Williams, it suffered numerous retirements leading to it being 118 points behind McLaren in third.

2009 – A complete aero overhaul

The next time a major rule change appeared in F1 was just over a decade on from the 1998 alterations, with an aerodynamic overhaul which was one of the most impactful in F1 history.

Redesigns of the front and rear wings as well as banning aero devices were implemented to reduce downforce. But, the wording of the rules left room for interpretation, leading to a situation of the haves and have-nots when it came to a double diffuser.

Newey’s Red Bull initially did not have the double diffuser and the designer had been outfoxed. Ross Brawn’s team did, and exploited it most efficiently to win both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ title.

Jenson Button’s start, which included winning six of the opening seven races, gave him what proved to be an unassailable lead. Though the Red Bull RB5 was arguably the best car by the end of the year, the gap was too big for Sebastian Vettel to close down.

Red Bull had to settle for second in both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships.

2014 – F1 switches to turbo hybrid power units

In 2013, Red Bull was the dominant force in Formula 1, but all of that changed in 2014 when another round of sweeping regulation changes came into effect.

Changes focused on the power unit, with the 2.4-litre naturally aspirated V8s replaced by 1.6-litre V6 turbo hybrid power units.

In preparation, Mercedes dedicated a huge amount of its resources, developing an advantage that lasted six seasons.

As for Newey and Red Bull, given it was not a works team, its fortunes were very much tied to its engine supplier, Renault.

It quickly became clear that whoever had a Mercedes engine in the back of the car would enjoy a sizeable advantage and Red Bull and Ferrari were the only two non-Merc customers to finish the season in the top six.

The Milton Keynes outfit ended the year second but almost 300 points behind Mercedes in a story of domination that would go on for years.

More on Adrian Newey from PlanetF1.com

* Adrian Newey: Aston Martin AMR26 will be ‘very different’ for Australian Grand Prix
* Aston Martin AMR26: What we’re hearing about Adrian Newey’s first Aston Martin
* Adrian Newey revives iconic McLaren 2005 horns with Aston Martin AMR26

2017 – Cars grow in width and length

Mercedes’ dominance prompted the sport to introduce another rule change in the hope of breaking up the monopoly.

Cars got bigger, growing to 2m wide as they were pre-1988, and an increase in downforce and grip produced quicker cars that soon took a number of lap records.

As for disrupting Mercedes, it only served to strengthen its resolve. The Silver Arrows won the title once more, over 140 points clear of second, as Newey’s Red Bull slipped down the order to third.

Problems with the TAG-Heuer badged Renault engine as well as driver crashes led to 13 DNFs over the course of the year compounded what was a tough campaign.

2022 – Ground effect returns

It is not often a university lecture hall in Southampton plays a big part in major sport but that is exactly what happened in 2022.

Newey studied aeronautical engineering at the university and his final project was based on ground-effect aerodynamics on race cars, something that was relatively underutilised in F1 at the time.

Fast forward 40 years and Newey must have been delighted when the FIA announced that designs would be focused on this aerodynamic effect.

With an intention to reduce dirty air and allow cars to follow one-another more easily, Newey’s studies and his experience of ground effect before its ban in 1983 meant Red Bull became one of the most dominant teams of all time.

While the 21 of 22 race wins in 2023 was the highlight of this era, 2022 was also an excellent year and showed how Newey and Red Bull could make significant strides even as the season was underway.

Ferrari started strongly, Charles Leclerc won two of the opening three races. By contrast, Red Bull suffered a double DNF in Bahrain and Max Verstappen’s retirement in Australia had him suggesting the title was out of reach.

But upgrades in Imola soon moved Red Bull, and in particular Verstappen, clear, enabling him to not only catch Leclerc but leave him in his dust.

Verstappen won the title by almost 150 points as Red Bull secured its first Constructors’ championship since 2013.

Read next: The five drivers most at risk in F1 2026 ‘silly season’